Stumped by the disappearance
of four sugar workers and the unchecked
rampage of wanted man Neil Bovell, the
Guyana Police Force yesterday announced
rewards totalling two million dollars for any
information on the cases.
Sookram Dhanai, aka Striker, 45, of Non
Pareil, and Hardat, aka Jagie, 51 of
Annandale, are both believed to have been
abducted as they were keeping watch in the
Lusignan backdam, sometime between Friday, 23
September and the morning of Saturday, 24
September. No demands for ransom have been
made.
Dhanai was said to be last seen wearing
dark long pants, a pink short-sleeve shirt and
black canvas shoes while Hardat was reportedly
wearing dark-coloured short pants, a green and
white vest, grey socks and black boots.
Sampersaud Taranauth, aka Shammie, 35, of
Enterprise, ECD and Maikhram Sawh, aka Bharat,
47, of Non Pareil vanished while cleaning one
of Guysuco's drainage canals behind Vigilance
on May 21 this year.
The two men left behind their bicycles and
lunch boxes. They have not been seen since and
it is widely believed that gunmen operating
out of nearby Buxton were responsible for
their disappearance.
Taranauth was last seen wearing a brown
short-sleeve shirt, black long pants and a
brown cap. Sawh was last seen with a pink
long-sleeve shirt and light green long pants.
He was barefeet at the time.
Neil Bovell, 37, is wanted for allegedly
killing his reputed wife, Philippa Harrison
during a domestic dispute in September of 2003
and is also wanted for questioning in relation
to the murder of Vernon Bernard whose house he
torched, and for the abduction of Bernard's
daughter. He also kidnapped a 32-year-old
woman last year. The closest Bovell came to
being caught was during a high-speed chase by
police in 2003. While the police were in hot
pursuit of Bovell they accidentally shot and
killed Eustace Small, a 70-year-old pensioner.
Two weeks ago Bovell emerged from hiding
and in his own style snatched a Guysuco worker
from Canal Number One Polder. He held the
woman for a night before releasing her.
Persons with information on the Guysuco
workers or Neil Bovell can call 225-6411,
226-1326, 229-2289, 229-2569, 229-2557,
226-6978, 225-8196 or 911.
The government and the police have come
under intense pressure over their inability to
solve the cases of the missing workers and to
capture Bovell - both of which were
highlighted in Monday's edition of Stabroek
News.
During a recent press conference, President
Bharrat Jagdeo described the performance of
the police as lethargic and said that they
spent too much time planning instead of
acting. The offer of the reward followed
yesterday's Cabinet meeting.
The police and the army were called in two
weeks after the disappearance of Sawh and
Taranauth to search Buxton and nearby areas.
Nothing was found. On the disappearance of
Dhanai and Hardat, the police and the army
immediately launched searches in Buxton and
other areas but yet again there was no sign of
the two sugar workers. Families of the four
men have been left to agonise over their
fates.
The Guyana Sugar Corporation has also been
criticised for the poor security conditions
under which the four men laboured.
In the case of Bovell, police have
complained that they have gotten very little
intelligence on him and that his friends and
relatives are helping him to evade capture.
Bovell, a former joint services member, has
set up camps in many places over the two years
he has been on the run. He has been supplied
with TVs, cell phones and other things to keep
him comfortable along with copious amounts of
food and drink.
He has then emerged at will to terrorise
residents and has been sighted in
Stanley-town, the two Canal Polders, Wales and
Vergenoegen.
