| – leave acroutrements behind By Leonard GildarieSeveral Indian nationals who pretended to be Pandits with mystical power, and who fleeced several Guyanese over the past weeks of millions of dollars, have left a mountain of evidence behind. There are indications now that at least two of them may have fled to Grenada yesterday.In their hurried departure from a city’s hotel,Seth Jones Team North America Jersey, where they had apparently been hiding out, at least two of the Indians attempted to destroy copies of bank statements from India,Peyton Manning Colts Jersey, phone records, and applications for extension to stay in Guyana.Some of the items the pandits left behindThere were also numerous torn advertisement receipts issued by several media houses and a payment made last Tuesday, for $180,000, to a travel agency for flights to Trinidad and Grenada using the LIAT airline.The trail of evidence all told too clearly of what was once an elaborate scam to defraud Guyanese but which was aborted hurriedly after Kaieteur News busted the scheme last week after staffers went undercover.There were copies of passports believed to be of the men and several photographs of persons who either visited the Indians or which were taken there by others. All the persons in the photographs appeared to be of African ancestry.There were also religious beaded necklaces and Hindu amulets (guides or tabeej).An alert cleaner at the hotel found the items and turned them over to this newspaper yesterday.Copies of torn letters, showing an address from Bangalore, India, and under the name of MSR Exports (Dealers in Textiles), indicated that the men had written the Ministry of Home Affairs in Guyana and the Trinidad Government to extend their visas as they are carrying out business researches and working on a “business proposal”.A piece of paper also carried the draft of an advertisement where an apparently fictitious name of one of the “Pandits” was substituted for another more favourable one.From all indications, the Indians travelled from Curacao, Netherlands Antilles, on March 9 and came to Guyana the next day after spending a night in Trinidad.There were a number of religious CDs and Indian outfits apparently worn by one of the men during their encounters with the public.Copies of two passports showed one image of a male Indian but carried two different names which suggested that the men may have been in possession of forged documents as well.Official sources yesterday also indicated that the men, at least three of them, may have attempted to board a flight at the Cheddi Jagan International Airport.It is unclear how this could have happened since the police have reportedly issued alerts at the ports and border points for the men.From indications, in March, several Indian nationals, numbering around ten, entered Guyana on three-month visas and set up operations across the country. They placed ads in the newspaper and on television stations of their astrology services which included palm reading, healing of sickness and solving domestic and other problems.Kaieteur News had from the start refused to carry any of the ads after suspicions arose that it was all a scam.On May 1, the men closed up operations and went into hiding with indications that they used city hotels.From one receipt, two of them on Tuesday booked their flight to Grenada.On April 30, Kaieteur News reporters went undercover to the David Street,JuJu Smith-Schuster Jersey, Kitty operations of one of the alleged scam artists. This followed several complaints by Guyanese who claimed that they paid thousands of dollars for the ‘Pandits’ to heal sickness, fix domestic problems and a host of other issues.A male reporter with a female co-worker, posing as his wife, were told that someone had worked black magic on them and this was the reason the “wife” was not getting pregnant.He demanded US$225 to fix the problem. He was confronted.It is believed that the Indians arrived here with one heading to Ruimzeight,Mike Ditka Bears Throwback Jersey, West Coast Demerara, another to Vreed-en-Hoop, another to Bagotstown,James Harden Team USA Jersey, East Bank Demerara, one to Georgetown and another to Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara. Evidence is now emerging that a number of them also went to Berbice and Essequibo.In one complaint, a woman said she paid $96,000 to remove a sore from her foot. Three weeks later it was still there.A Mahaica contractor said that he paid US$225 to heal his sick daughter.“Three weeks pass and she still feel sick. I went back to him (the astrologer) and he seh that we gun have to do a bigger puja. I know then that something fishy.”Yet another alleged victim earlier this week claimed that he visited the Bagotstown ‘Pandit’ after his wife left him and went overseas.“I tell he I want her back. He tell me to pay $35,000 and he will do a puja and she will come back in three days. I tell he to do the puja, get her back and I will pay him $100,Eddie Jackson Jersey,000.”From all indications, the Indian nationals decided to flee on May 1 after Kaieteur News went back to the David Street operations and took a number of pictures, including a few of the ‘Pandit’ there.That same evening, a businessman who had rented a property at Ruimzeight, located right next door to a prominent Ashram, received a call from the ‘Pandit’ there who said he had to leave immediately for India as a relative was dreadfully sick.Another ‘Pandit’ who rented an upper flat above a Chinese restaurant at Vreed-en-Hoop, also left hurriedly Saturday, the same day he moved in.To date, there are no signs of the one at Bagotstown and the other at Mon Repos.It was apparent the men came prepared for a hurried exit as their operations were small.At David Street,Bernie Kosar Browns Jersey, a small self-contained apartment told the tale too clearly of the men’s sparse belongings and their intentions.A notice on the fence which listed the ‘Pandit’ services, including palm reading, solving domestic problems and healing the sick, had been torn down. A garland that once hanged over the doorway had also been removed.Speaking with this newspaper earlier this week, Home Affairs Minister, Clement Rohee,Tyrell Williams Chargers Jersey, said that the police have been actively pursuing the fraudsters who he confirmed were not granted work permits.“We have an exercise to round them up because they are in breach of our laws. We have been tracking them down based on the addresses they advertised,” the Minister told Kaieteur News.According to Rohee,Gordie Howe Red Wings Jersey, there is a widespread view that the activities of these persons are merely economical.“It’s a sham. If these people could tell the future then they do not need to work. They could get enrichment by seeing what is in store for themselves. Let them read their own palms and predict what they need to do to enrich themselves,” the Home Affairs Minister stated. |
