PRAYING MAN MURDERED

HUNGRY for money and valuables, a bandit stormed the prayer room of a house in Hardbargain, Williamsville shooting dead the homeowner, who at the time was deep in prayer, and also shooting the pundit who was leading the session.

Bleeding from gunshot wounds to his chest and abdomen pundit Shervon Narad stumbled away from the bandit while devotee Joseph Narine, 60, slumped to the floor in the prayer room, bullets fired into his head and chest.

The murder sent shock waves in the community with many outraged residents saying people aren’t even safe from bandits while praying.

According to police at 11.30 pm on Tuesday, pundit Narad was leading prayers in the room with Narine when the bandit entered and demanded money and jewelry. From his hospital bed, the pundit later told investigators that the bandit pointed the gun at him while making his demands.

The thief shot Narine in his head who slumped to the floor and was then shot in his chest. Narine died where he fell. As pundit Narad turned to run, he was shot in the stomach. He continued running even as the bandit continued firing. Several rooms in the house were ransacked and the bandit made off with a quantity jewelry.

Narine’s relatives showed blood trails starting from in the prayer room and leading to other areas of the house, testimony to the pundit’s attempt to escape the gunman. “At the hospital, when we visited him he (Narad) told me he just kept running as fast as he could despite the pain he felt. He then hid in bushes near to another house until the thief left,” said a relative of Narine who asked not to be identified.

Neighbours who were alerted by the gunshots, found the bleeding pundit in the bushes. He was taken to the Princes Town Health Centre and transferred to San Fernando General Hospital where he underwent emergency surgery. Hospital sources said the pundit lost a lot of blood and his condition is serious but stable.

A District Medical Officer pronounced Narine dead at the scene and ordered his body removed to the Forensic Science Centre. An autopsy showed Narine died from the gunshot wound to his head. Relatives described Narine as a religious man who held prayer services at his home regularly. On March 16, he celebrated his 60th birthday.

“He worked at the Ministry of Works and only recently retired. He was a peaceful and spiritual man. He and the pundit were close friends and were always engaged in prayer. This is really sad what happened. Two innocent men just praying had to be shot like that. I don’t know what this country is becoming,” the relative said.

A release from the United National Congress (UNC) expressed disappointment at governments’ failure to deal with crime.

“The United National Congress is expressing alarm over the unabated continuation of murders and the increasing incidences of crime in the country which is causing distress for law-abiding citizens. Just look at the headlines of our daily newspapers in the last 24 hours,” the UNC said, adding it was appalling that people cannot even pray in peace. No arrest has been made and investigations are continuing.