Murder victim had no place to hide

YVONNE WEBB

THERE was no place for Roddy Ramsingh to hide when gunmen came calling last Friday night with one thing on their mind – murder.

As patrons at Fat Boy’s Bar – where he was hanging out with friends after fixing a car – ran for cover, Ramsingh tried to blend into the dark corner of a wall, hoping he would be not be detected, but the killers found him and pumped at least ten bullets in his slightly-built frame. He died on the spot. One of his friends, Ramnarine Chaitoo, was also hit, but survived.

Police believe the gunmen mistook Ramsingh, 46, a mechanic from Delhi Road, Fyzabad, for the intended target, who lived nearby and frequented the bar. Reports indicate that two attempts were previously made on the life of the man who was marked for death, but in the dark shadows of the bar, Ramsingh, also known as Lacey, was mistaken for him.

He was unmarried and had no children. On Saturday morning, unaware that he had died, some of his clients showed up at his home to have their cars repaired. His grieving sister Sharon Ramsingh-Gopie, who also lost her husband two and a half years ago, described her brother as the village mechanic who never turned anyone away regardless of time or day.

It was a situation like this which led him to be at Fat Boy’s Bar that night. Although it was already dark, Ramsingh-Gopie recalled, her brother went to the aid of a distressed driver and when he was finished, decided to lime at the bar, at the urging of some of his friends.