Guyanese authorities have issued a murder warrant for Satrohan “Depo” Rajkumar, a former associate of the country’s Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed, in connection with the 2021 fatal shooting of gold miner Ricardo “Paper Shorts” Fagundes, law enforcement officials confirmed Wednesday. The killing took place outside Georgetown’s popular Palm Court venue on Main Street in March 2021, and a renewed investigation into the high-profile case has now unearthed new developments that have sent shockwaves through Guyana’s political landscape.
Three other associates connected to Mohamed’s now-defunct motor racing venture Team Mohameds – Udoh Kanu, used car dealer Amarnauth Ramsook, and security officer Mark Richmond – have each been granted bail set at 1 million Guyanese dollars as the probe continues. Investigators have confirmed that the getaway vehicle used by the attackers was later discovered burned out along the Linden-Soesdyke Highway, and the registered owner of the car has since passed away.
Mohamed, whose We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) party secured 13 seats in last September’s general and regional elections to cement his position as Guyana’s Opposition Leader, has launched fierce public pushback against the renewed investigation, claiming the probe is a politically motivated plot to tarnish his name. The allegations come after Mohamed publicly exposed a large-scale agricultural development owned by sitting President Irfaan Ali along the Linden-Soesdyke Highway.
“The People’s Progressive Party has never faced a determined, vocal Opposition Leader in recent history. That is why they have waged a relentless campaign to bring me down ever since I entered mainstream politics,” Mohamed wrote in a post on his official Facebook page linked to Team Mohameds.
The opposition leader also claimed that two of his former innocent employees were detained for six days as part of what he called a deliberate manipulation of Guyana’s judicial system and a blatant violation of the men’s constitutionally protected rights. Already wanted by United States authorities on allegations of unrelated financial crimes, Mohamed further claimed that the deceased getaway car owner, Shemroy Stewart, was a known contracted killer for Shaheed “Roger” Khan – a drug kingpin who was convicted and imprisoned in the U.S. years ago on cocaine trafficking charges. Mohamed has denied ever having any personal or professional connection to Stewart. He also alleged that senior police officials have approached multiple inmates in Guyanese prisons offering incentives to issue false statements that would directly tie him to Fagundes’ murder.
For his part, Khan broke his silence on the case Monday, stating that Fagundes – whom Khan described as his “son” – was killed in an attack that was actually meant for him. Khan repeated longstanding claims that he previously helped prevent the collapse of the former Bharrat Jagdeo administration, and accused police of intentionally dragging their feet in the initial response to the 2021 shooting, a claim he first made publicly weeks after the killing.