Killed farmer’s screams for his mom were in vain

Just before he was shot dead by robbers, Barrackpore farmer Anand Ramkarran screamed to his ailing mother for help. However, the 59-year-old woman could not render assistance, as the robbers shot Ramkarran once at point blank range and snatched $2,000 from his pants pockets. Police said Ramkarran, 31, of Ramsabad Trace, Barrackpore, was on his way to buy ochro seeds when two men, armed with guns, confronted him close to his home and demanded money. He tried to raise an alarm but the thieves shot him once, snatched the money and drove off in a waiting car.

The murder, which occurred shortly after 2 pm yesterday, left residents in shock. His wife, Zaniffa, who gave birth to their last child one month ago, screamed and rolled on the ground when she saw his corpse sprawled facedown on the road. Sobbing uncontrollably, Zaniffa said: “We were going to plant up the land. We looked all over to get the seeds and Anand say he will go to San Fernando to get it. “He did not want to drive because there is no parking on Mucurapo Street.”

However, moments after her husband walked out the road, Zaniffa heard a loud gunshot. “I ran outside and I hear my husband shouting ‘Ma! Ma!’ When I looked out, I see them pulling out the money from his pocket. I could not see their faces. I ran back inside,” Zaniffa said. She immediately contacted the police who arrived within minutes. However, Ramkarran’s uncle Bhagwandeen Ramkarran, said the police did not allow relatives to take him to the hospital even though he was still alive. “He was still breathing and we had a van to take him to the hospital but after the police came, we could not move him. The ambulance took one hour to get here and by that time, he was dead,” Bhagwandeen said.

He added that if the paramedics had arrived on time, Ramkarran would have survived. Ramkarran’s mother, Ramdaye Rampersad, sat on a chair in the blistering sun and watched her son’s corpse on the road. “Son, I sick. I could not help you. Oh God, look how they kill my only son,” Rampersad sobbed. She said Ramkarran was the sole breadwinner in the family and took care of his wife, parents and his two children — Shivanie, eight, and one-month-old Shivanan. There were no arrests up to late yesterday. Investigators said it was possible that the killers knew he had money in his possession before they committed the robbery. Senior Supt Deodat Dulalchand and Supt Zamsheed Mohammed are heading investigations.