A 35-year-old official of the Georgetown Chamber is said to have escaped his kidnappers in Buxton early yesterday morning, hours after he was snatched from his vehicle in front of his Agricola home and his wife shot and injured.
Stabroek News was unable to ascertain if any ransom was demanded for Dev Sharma who is the Director of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce & Industry.
His wife, Maria, was shot in the thigh by one of the two bandits and is said to be in a serious condition in the Georgetown Public Hospital.
Yesterday when Stabroek News visited the Sharmas’ home, at 65 Remus and Brutus Streets, Agriola, it was tightly shut and no one appeared to be home. There were bloodstains in the yard.
Residents said the couple and their two small children had only moved into the East Bank Demerara village late last year.
They said that every night when the man arrived home he would park opposite the house and wait for his wife to open the gate before he reversed his 4x4 into the yard.
According to the residents, as the wife opened the gate on Wednesday night two men on foot approached Sharma’s car, dragged him out and pushed him into the back of the vehicle.
It was at this stage his wife attempted to raise an alarm but one of the bandits fired shots hitting her in the leg.
The men then attempted to reverse the vehicle out of the street but slammed it into a light post and one of its back wheels got stuck in a drain.
Because the car was partly blocking the street, approaching vehicles were forced to stop.
The gunmen then stopped a white car, ejected the driver, bundled Sharma inside and sped away.
“I see them forcing the man into the car and then the wife run upstairs hollering...” a resident said. Shortly after, an ambulance took the wife to the hospital while the children were taken away by their grandparents.
Police public relations officer, Assistant Superinten- dent David Ramnarine, said the police had received reports that Sharma managed to flee from his captors’ hideout in Buxton and sought refuge on Agriculture Road, Mon Repos.
It was while there he was able to make a telephone call and contacted his father who picked him up. Ramnarine said they had been unable to make contact with Sharma.
He said reports have indicated that the white car was recovered in Strathspey, East Coast Demerara.
Meanwhile the PPP issued a press release condemning the kidnapping.
It noted that Sharma was a past University of Guyana student while his wife was pursuing post-graduate studies in the Faculty of Social Sciences.
“The violence unleashed on our nation since the prison break of February 23, 2002 has created a dangerous climate in our country. Since then many persons have been killed including business people and other innocent bystanders.
The security force, especially the police force, are expected to contain the crimes perpetrated on our citizenry and to do so in conditions of regular harassment emanating from certain quarters and when these ranks are targeted for execution.”
According to the release for some time now there have been forces in society consciously or consciously helping to foster the present climate. “Acts that glorify and media `explanation’ that often try to portray criminals as heroes are contributing to the dangers to which the innocent and, indeed, the Guyanese community at large are exposed.”
And the President of the Association of Regional Chambers of Commerce (ARCC), Muntaz Ali, said before knowing of Sharma’s release, “We pray for his safe return so that he can be reunited with his family and friends.”
Over the last year or so, Buxton has been a haven for bandits and kidnappers. Several persons have been kidnapped and held in the village. Some were released while others were found dead.