The Suriname police have been contacted over the killing of a Berbice taxi driver on Sunday night but the victim's father - a policeman - believes that the killers are Guyanese.

 

Taxi driver shot dead, body dumped on Corentyne road

 

-killers may have come from Suriname

 

Gunmen shot a 23-year-old taxi driver in the back of the head on Saturday night and dumped his body on the Number 19, Corentyne Highway after stealing his vehicle.

The body of Kaleshwar Roopnarine, of Line Path, Corentyne, was found on the Number Nineteen Highway at around 02:10 hrs yesterday by Roopnarine's employers, who had launched a frantic search for him after reporting him missing.

Police sources said that the corpse bore a single gunshot wound behind the head.

The driver's watch and identification card were still intact, but an estimated $8,000 that Roopnarine had collected from passengers was missing.

Roopnarine was last seen driving a white AT 192 Toyota Carina HB 2259 belonging to Raj Taxi Service.

The taxi service is located at Linepath, and Roopnarine began working there about a week ago.

Police are working in the theory that he was slain by two passengers who may have entered Guyana illegally from Suriname .

Police have confirmed that the vehicle Roopnarine was driving crossed from New Amsterdam to West Berbice at around 22:20 hours on Sunday night.

Kaieteur News understands when Roopnarine reported to work on Sunday, a female passenger had hired him to take her to various parts of the Corentyne.

Sources said that Roopnarine had informed the dispatcher via radio that he had dropped the woman off at Line Path.

Police said that at around 19:30 hrs on Sunday, Roopnarine again radioed his base to say that two male Surinamese, who had landed at the #78 foreshore (an illegal port of entry) had hired him to take them to New Amsterdam.

That was the last that was heard from him.

Proprietor of Raj Taxi Service at Line Path, Rajesh Ramsammy, said Roopnarine called between 19:45 and 20:00hrs to say that he was bound for New Amsterdam with the two passengers.

Ramsammy said that around midnight his son told him that Roopnarine had not returned, and that they were unable to contact him on the radio set.

The businessman said he then decided to call in another one of his cars and went in search of the vehicle.

At the time, Ramsammy suspected that police may have detained his driver for transporting goods that were brought into Guyana via Suriname illegally.

The businessman said that after traveling for some miles, his driver spotted a body lying on the Number 19 Road.

Although the roadway has no streetlights, Ramsammy said that they saw that the victim was clad in blue jeans, blue sneakers and yellow shirt with black stripes, which was the same attire the deceased was last seen wearing.

Mr. Ramsammy said they immediately headed to the Albion Police Station where the discovery was reported.

He related that the body bore a gunshot wound to the back of the head and a dent at the front of the head.

Roopnarine's father said that when he returned home from work around 22:00hrs on Sunday night, his son was not at home. He explained that his son had been driving the family Tapir, but recently gave up the job and started working for Raj Taxi Service four days before his death.

The slain man's mother, Rita Roopnarine, said that her son, the eldest of seven children, worked both Friday and Saturday nights. He left for work on Sunday, just a few houses away, around 17:00 hours.

 

She said that he told her several times before that he would not pick up strangers at nights. She is convinced that the driver was familiar with his passengers. She said she was told that the young man was in the vicinity of a popular gas station, when the two passengers approached him.

Up to late last night police were still searching for the stolen car.