The driver in a high-speed chase which ended with a motor
mechanic of Corriverton being shot dead by police
did not have proper documents for his car and this may have led
to the tragedy.
Doubts are also being raised about whether any gunfire
emanated from the car necessitating the shooting of the
mechanic. No gun was found in the car after the police caught up
with it but a press statement had said that two men escaped from
it and were being sought.
The driver has been identified as an ex-policeman from the
Corentyne and is still in police custody along with the vehicle.
Bhimraj
Dindyal of Lot 78, Corriverton was discovered dead in
the back seat of a car. Police sources say the mechanic had past
brushes with the law, a claim relatives have strongly denied.
Police
late Wednesday afternoon disclosed that the
29-year-old mechanic was killed at around 6.15 am while he and
three others were trying to escape from the police.
According to the police report, officers tried to flag down
the car for a routine traffic stop at Rosignol, but it sped past
them. Attempts were later made to stop the car as it drove past
the Fort Wellington and Weldaad police stations. The police said
as the vehicle sped past, the occupants opened fire. The
policemen returned fire, but the car continued on until it was
eventually stopped. It was at this stage that the two men
escaped from the vehicle.
Police approached the car and arrested the man who identified
himself as the driver. In the back seat, ranks found the body of
Dindyal.
Police said no gun was found in the car which was later
impounded.
Reports reaching this newspaper yesterday differed from those
emerging from the police. A man who says he was close to one of
the road blocks contended that at no time did the occupants of
the car open fire on the police.
Stabroek News was told that the driver did not have the
relevant documents for his vehicle which he allegedly purchased
from Suriname. According to reports, Dindyal who is a motor
mechanic would normally repair CBR motorcycles in Georgetown. On
many occasions he would transport the owners to the city where
they would collect their bikes and ride back to the Corentyne.
Sources said on Wednesday Dindyal and the three men were on a
similar mission to Georgetown when police at Rosignol attempted
to stop the car. But the driver drove away, knowing that his
documents were not in order. Reports are that the officers at
Rosignol telephoned their colleagues at Fort Wellington but when
the driver got there he drove away also.
Similar action was taken at Weldaad where the driver slowed
down and had a short conversation with the ranks. Stabroek News
was told that at this point the driver tried to explain to the
ranks that he was going back to New Amsterdam to collect his
documents, but they refused to allow him. An argument ensued and
he sped off.
It was at this point, the eyewitness said, the ranks opened
fire. He contended that at no point did he see the occupants
firing back.
Sources close to the dead man's relatives argued that
contrary to what is being suggested, Dindyal was no bandit
neither was he running away from the police. A post-mortem
report was performed on his body yesterday which revealed that
he haemorrhaged to death as a result of a bullet which entered
his left cheek and exited through his head. His funeral is set
for today.
Man
dies after shoot-out with police on West Coast Berbice
Thursday, August 12th 2004
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One man is dead after a car chase and shoot-out
with the police on the West Coast of Berbice yesterday
morning and two others who were in the vehicle are
being sought.
Bhimraj Dindyal, a 29-year-old mechanic of
Corriverton, Corentyne, was killed at around 6.15 am
while he and three others were trying to escape from
the police.
Police reported last night that an officer tried to
flag down the car, PCC 7230, with its four occupants
for a routine traffic stop at Rosignol, but they sped
past him.
Attempts were later made to stop the car as it
drove past the Fort Wellington and Weldaad police
stations. In the latter instance, a nail board was
placed across the road but the men evaded the device.
However, as the vehicle sped past, the occupants
opened fire on one of the armed ranks. The policemen
returned fire, but the occupants of the car
nonetheless continued their dramatic escape bid until
they were eventually stopped. Two of the occupants are
said to have escaped from the vehicle when it came to
a halt.
Police approached the car and arrested the man who
identified himself as the driver of the vehicle. In
the back seat, they found the body of Dindyal.
He was taken afterward to the Fort Wellington
Hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival.
Ranks from the Criminal Investigation Department
headquarters, including Crime Scene Unit (CSU)
officers, were later dispatched to the scene to begin
the investigation.
Police said no gun was found in the car, which was
later impounded.
A search was in progress up to last evening for the
two men, who are reportedly well-known to the police.
'My son was a mechanic not
a bandit' -stepfather
Saturday, August 14th 2004
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The man who was shot dead on the West
Coast Berbice on Tuesday after the car he
was in ran two roadblocks, was a renowned
motorcycle mechanic on the Corentyne Coast.
Beemraj `Stone' Dindyal's stepfather
Abdool Rasheed Satar, who is a rural
constable told Stabroek News yesterday that
he was disturbed by reports in a section of
the media that his son was a bandit. Dindyal
died after the police opened fire on the car
as it tried to evade the police. The police
said that they were fired on by someone in
the car forcing them to return fire. Some
doubt has been cast on this version by
residents in the area and the police did not
find a weapon in the car though they say
that two men fled from it after it came to a
halt.
Dindyal was said to be one of the best
motorcycle mechanics on the Corentyne. Satar
explained that he worked at home but some of
his clients would ask him to go to their
homes to repair their motorcycles.
The man said he normally did outside work
for one of the men with him at the time of
the incident. He also mentioned that the man
was a frequent traveller who imported
motorcycles.
Dindyal was at the time leaving for
Georgetown where he and another mechanic
were to repair two motorcycles. According to
Satar they had made arrangements to ride the
machines up to Berbice.
Early on Tuesday, Dindyal's stepfather
reported, a car came for his son and they
left.
Later in the morning sometime after 6 am,
Satar said he got a message from the
driver's wife who said that Dindyal was shot
and that her husband was in custody and she
was going to see if she could get him out.
Satar said he knew that the car's driver
was an ex-policeman who had recently
purchased the car from a policeman who was
due to leave the country shortly. The
vehicle was not registered, and had no
licence or any other documents. Some
residents in the area have said this was the
reason why the driver tried to evade the
police.
Two hours later Satar got a call from the
driver's wife confirming that Dindyal was
shot twice. Dindyal was buried yesterday and
has left to mourn his father, mother Veji
Satar, two sisters and a brother.
Satar said he knows that his son was a
mechanic and had no association with bandits
although having a weakness for alcohol.
Several people from the area told
Stabroek News that Dindyal was a regular
young man who was not capable of performing
violent criminal acts.
One man recalled that Dindyal was at one
time married and on the path to success but
in his opinion after his marriage broke up
he began to turn more to the bad side and
fell in with the wrong company.
They said he would sometimes drink and
"get on bad." Satar said Dindyal
was involved in a court case concerning a
missing motorcycle, for which he was to
appear in court on August 16. He said the
bike had been left with his son to repair
for around four years. He pointed to an area
in the yard where old motorcycles were
dumped to create space and suggested when
exposed to the weather it would not be in
good working condition after four years.
Other residents told Stabroek News that
Dindyal was often caught up in conflicts
with the police in relation to missing
motorcycle parts and things of that nature.
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