Fake pandits flee hideouts

Newspress

Several 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, where they had apparently been hiding out, at least two of the Indians attempted to destroy copies of bank statements from India, phone records, and applications for extension to stay in Guyana.

There 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.