Young mechanic murdered in bedroom
THE police are investigating the gruesome murder of 23-year-old mechanic, Puranand Andrew Baljit, who was fatally stabbed several times while in his bedroom at Lot 57 Timehri, East Bank Demerara, on Thursday night.According to reports reaching the Guyana Chronicle, the perpetrator (s) apparently grabbed him by the neck through his bedroom window and stabbed him several times about the body and in the region of the heart.
Detectives examining the track adjacent to the house where they believe the killer(s) escaped
His father and stepmother heard loud screams coming from the room but could not gain access since his door was locked. They subsequently managed to get inside and found him in a bloodied state.
He was pronounced dead on arrival at the East Bank Demerara Regional Hospital after being taken there by his stepmother, Simone Baljit. Detectives spent the entire day combing the area and taking statements based on the circumstances under which the body was discovered. They also recovered a 12-inch knife from the scene, believed to be the murder weapon.
Divisional Commander Clifton Hicken said they are working on a lead. Father of the dead man, Harichand Baljit, known as ‘Jackie,’ recalled hearing his son screaming but could not get into the room, since the door was locked.
He then exited the house, climbed through his son’s bedroom window and found him lying in a pool of blood. The young man’s window is not grilled and is located on the northern section of the flat concrete house.
One of the theories by investigators is that the perpetrator(s) grabbed him by the head while he was sitting next to the window and stabbed him several times before escaping on foot.
Residents in the area said they learnt of the stabbing after 22:00hrs and decided to search the area in the hope of finding the attacker. Described as a quiet and isolated individual with few friends, one resident said that Baljit was always easygoing and was always seen on his cellphone texting away.
“Sometimes even if he is on his bicycle, he was on his phone; he also fixes cellphones for people in his quiet time when he is not doing mechanic work,” one resident related.
A visit to the scene revealed that there was a fresh booth print in a mud trail that led to the public road. The police discovered that a concrete block was used for the person to climb on in order to gain full access to Baljit’s window, while there were cellphones and strands of female hair in his room.
Residents believe that the attacker(s) know the young man personally. “He could not fight anyone who grabbed him from the back, he is a little guy and whoever did it take advantage of him.”
One visibly upset resident said, “We have a lot of youths in the area in Soesdyke and Timehri who do not do anything but smoke drugs all day. Police should have locked all of them up until the investigation finish, we need help in these villages to get jobs or put these youth to work somewhere.”
The young mechanic operated from his father’s property, where the murder took place.