Sawmill supervisor’s body found with throat slashed, head bashed in

May 29, 2013 News

–    triangular love affair suspected motive

A bitter rivalry over a young woman is the suspected motive behind the brutal murder of a 22-year-old sawmill supervisor, whose body, with throat slashed and head bashed in, was found at 14:50 yesterday at Land-of-Canaan, East Bank Demerara.
Thandu Singh, also called Kemraj Singh, was found lying on a bed in a shack at his employer’s Land of Canaan sawmill. His throat had a gaping wound and he had been struck repeatedly to the head. A bloody

Undertakers removing the body of Kemraj Singh (inset) from the sawmill.

hammer was found at the scene.
Information provided by the slain man’s family has led police to believe that Singh was killed by a young man with whom he had a bitter dispute over a 17-year-old woman that both youths wanted to marry. Kaieteur News was told that the young woman had run away with Singh and the two were planning to get married next Monday. Up to late last night, police were still trying to locate the suspect, known only to investigators as ‘Bangogee.’
Kaieteur News understands that Kemraj Singh is from Airy Hall, Essequibo, but has been staying at his mother’s home on the East Bank of Demerara and at the shack located at the sawmill compound.
According to reports, two sawmill employees arrived at the premises shortly after 07:00 hrs yesterday and called for the supervisor, but got no answer. They did not suspect that anything was amiss, since Singh would sometimes be absent from the premises. However, after failing to reach Singh on his cell phone, the employees notified the sawmill owner, who went to the shack and found Singh’s battered and mutilated corpse.
Singh’s mother and close family friends remained at the scene until undertakers removed the body, but declined to speak with reporters.
This newspaper understands that the parents of the girl at the centre of the dispute had wanted her to marry a young man from a wealthy family. However, the girl started a relationship with Singh.
“The girl’s family like the suspect, but she don’t like the boy,” a source said.
This infuriated the would-be bridegroom and the two men reportedly almost came to blows some two months ago.
Nevertheless, Singh and the young woman reportedly continued the relationship and the sawmill supervisor allegedly took his girlfriend from her parent’s home a few days ago, with the intention of marrying her next Monday.