Guyana death squad witness shot dead
Friday, June 25, 2004
GEORGETOWN, Guyana: Reuters reports that
gunmen on Thursday shot and killed a key witness in a Guyana death squad case
who claimed the interior minister was linked to extrajudicial killings of
several criminals, police officials said.
George Bacchus, who said he was involved in the death squad dubbed the
"Phantom Gang," was shot three times as he lay in his bed, senior police
officer Henry Greene told reporters. Bacchus
had told local media that Home Affairs Minister Ronald Gajraj knew about the
operations of the group, which police believe has murdered about a dozen
criminals over the last year in the impoverished South American nation.
The minister has rejected the accusations.
But President Bharrat Jagdeo set up a commission to investigate the
allegations after Gajraj offered to go on leave to allow an impartial probe
into the claims. Opposition leaders have
called for Gajraj to resign over the incident. Bacchus had said he would
testify against Gajraj before the commission.
He came forward with the allegations earlier this year after his brother was
shot dead in Guyana's capital city, Georgetown. Bacchus said the group wanted
to kill him but mistakenly murdered his brother.
Guyana, a poor, racially divided country between Venezuela and Suriname, has
been plagued by a rash of violent killings and kidnappings. Several police
officers and prominent businessmen have been shot and killed in the past year.
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