” the dead man’s cousin

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The hunt is on for two men who bludgeoned a young carpenter to death on Sunday in what isKhemchand Mahadeobeing treated as a robbery.Raghunandan Persaud, 27, of Non Pareil was pronounced dead on arrival at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation, an hour after he was struck in the head with a piece of wood by one of two men who attacked him as he was making his way home on Sunday night.Police said in a press release that Raghunandan was involved in an argument at Non Pareil during which he was allegedly beaten about his body with a piece of wood by another man about 22:30 hours on Sunday.But relatives believe that the man with whom Persaud had the argument was not related to the men who actually attacked him.They believe that the killers used the confrontation between Persaud and the other man to conceal their real motive which was robbery.Kaieteur News was told that the argument between Persaud and the other man, which was taking place just outside a Chinese restaurant in the community, stemmed from an old grievance between the two.“De boy does trouble he (Persaud) li’l sister and he de talking to he about it,” the dead man’s cousin, Kavita, told this newspaper.Relatives related that two unknown men, who were standing outside the restaurant, observing the confrontation, challenged Persaud as he and a cousin Navin were making their way home.“While he arguing with de man, he cousin come up and buy something in de Chinese and dey lef and was going home when dese two men come up and tell Ryan that he was beating up dey family,” a relative of the dead man explained.The relative said that Persaud “answered” the men who picked up a piece of wood and attacked him.“One fire a lash and he (Persaud) bar it with he hand, but when he put down he hand, de next lash catch he pon he temple and he spin and fall down and lef lifeless pon de ground. It was instant death,” the relative said.The men then turned their attention to Persaud’s cousin and assaulted him too with the wood, bursting his lips.They demanded cash from the cousin and he gave them the $300 he had. They then rummaged through the dead man’s pockets and took the cash he had inside along with his cellular phone, before riding off with the cousin’s bicycle.Strangely enough the men did not take off the chain and a ring that Persaud was wearing at the time.The items were allegedly taken by staffers at the GPHC when Persaud’s body was taken there.“I carry he to the hospital with he chain and he ring and when dey pronounce he dead and we go back inside fuh see he, it gone,” the relative told Kaieteur News.His distraught parents were in no condition to speak to this newspaper yesterday. According to other relatives, it will take a while before they can overcome the grief of losing their eldest child.“If he was sick we could’a accept but this is murder…Hell no! That boy don’t trouble nobody,” his cousin Kavita declared.Meanwhile, investigators are still trying to ascertain the identities of Persaud’s killers. Their efforts appeared to have been hampered by a non-cooperative restaurant owner.Kaieteur News was told that surveillance cameras are mounted on the premises of the restaurant but when detectives went to review the footage for any clues, they were told that the footage for that period was deleted.