Murdered businessman's mother: Faith in police not restored yet

THE MOTHER of murdered car dealer Sachel Kungebeharry says she is pleased that two police officers have been arrested and charged in connection with his death, but she is not yet ready to call that a victory for justice.

On October 11, Acting Cpl Ashraf Mohammed, 45, and Jason Dan Michael, 34, appeared before Master Magaret Sookraj-Goswami charged with Kungebeharry's kidnapping and murder.

They are alleged to have murdered Kungebeharry sometime between September 24 and October 4, 2024, along with an unknown person, and are accused of misbehaviour in public office in the kidnapping for ransom.

Kungebeharry was buried at Hassarath Cemetery, Cunupia on October 10

Speaking to Newsday by phone on October 11, Kungebeharry's mother, Lyncia Hasranah, said she was pleasantly surprised the officers were slapped with the charges just one day after her son's funeral.

"We are happy that so far it has reached this stage."

However, she said given the circumstances surrounding Kungebeharry's abduction and killing, the family believes there were others who might have been involved but were still at large.

"We think that more people that we think are involved should be pulled in for questioning and charged also."

Until then, she said the family would not get closure or describe the recent arrests as a win.

Hasranah said the speed of the arrests and charges being laid proved to her that all police officers weren't corrupt, and some were still dedicated to their jobs.

Despite this, she admitted the family's faith in the police had not been entirely restored. She believed that would only come when they were certain all those responsible for her son's death were brought to justice.

Firmly believing there are other suspects walking free, she fears for her family's safety.

"We are working people. We don't know how safe...my children and I are."

She called on Police Commissioner Erla Harewood-Christopher to assure her that her family would be protected.

Speaking at a police press briefing on October 8, Deputy Commissioner of Police Suzette Martin, in response to this incident and others where police officers or people dressed as officers were accused of committing crimes, Martin said the police intended to review its recruitment, training and internal systems to prevent abuses of power.

However, Hasranah doubted the initiative would be enough.

Kungebeharry was abducted on September 25 when a marked police vehicle intercepted the car he was travelling in in Chaguanas. Three men dressed in what appeared to be police tactical clothes said they had a warrant out for his arrest before bundling him into the marked car and driving away. The other occupants of the vehicle Kungebeharry was travelling in were left unharmed.

In a previous interview with Newsday, Hasranah said the family received a call on September 26 demanding a $500,000 ransom and that police and the media be left out of the matter. Voice notes were sent to the family as proof of life. She said the family obliged and paid the ransom on September 29 after selling off Kungebeharry's vehicles to raise the money. After this, she said the kidnappers stopped communicating with the family.

On October 2, three police officers assigned to the Central Division were detained by investigators assigned to the Professional Standards Bureau and the Anti-Kidnapping Unit.

Shortly after midnight on October 4, Kungebeharry's decomposing body was discovered in a shallow grave off Pokhor Road in Longdenville. It was later identified as his by fingerprint analysis at the Forensic Sciences Centre in St James. Given the state of the body, his mother believed he was killed before the ransom was paid.

His mother said an autopsy on October 7 revealed Kungebeharry was chopped in his neck and head and had multiple stab wounds to his torso.