Crash victim’s dad found murdered

FOUR months after Pradeep  Lochan and his four-year-old son, Cameron, died in an accident, the cold hands of death visited the Lochan household once again, when Pradeep’s father, Sylvan Lochan, 58, was found bludgeoned to death at his Mohess Road home in Penal, Monday night. “When I visited him (Sylvan) for Father’s Day, he said he felt he could die and be with them (Pradeep and Cameron). He was grieving and hurting a lot after the death of his son and grandson,” said Sally Lochan, who survived the accident which claimed her husband and son’s lives. Lochan’s murder has shocked and enraged residents of Mohess Road, since Lochan’s home was located within a five-mile radius of three police stations.       

Lochan reportedly called police on Monday afternoon to report a break-in at his home, with relatives saying the police responded some four hours later, only to find his blood-soaked body lying in a pool of blood. Investigators are working on the theory that Lochan was bludgeoned to death when he confronted bandits in his house. But police also believe that, based on conditions in the house, Lochan may have been murdered by men who had a cook-up with him at the house. Villagers slammed police for their response time. “This is the cause of the police. If they had responded on time, Lochan would have been alive today. But since he called to report a break-in, they (police) thought it was not important,” a villager said. Lochan’s house is located in close proximity to the Debe Police Post, Penal and Barrackpore police stations, and his home falls within the jurisdiction of the Barrackpore Police Station.

Police sources said Lochan telephoned E-999 Rapid Response around 5 pm to report that bandits had broken into his house. At the time, Lochan was alone at home since his daughter Susan, who lives with him, was out of the country. E-999 police, sources said, in turn contacted Penal Police Station and relayed the report. Penal police officers then went to Lochan’s house around 5.30 pm and called out to him, but got no response. The officers returned to the station and relayed information by telephone to Barrackpore police. Around 8.30 pm, Barrackpore police arrived at the house and, with Lochan’s nephew Hemraj Jaglal, entered the house through a back door which appeared to have been broken in. “We found uncle in the hallway leading to the drawing room. He was lying down on his belly and covered in blood. The house was ransacked and robbed,” a shaken Jaglal told Newsday.

Residents said three men from the area, all in their 20s, were wreaking havoc in the village that afternoon, smashing side mirrors of five vehicles and throwing bottles at the owner of a bar. Police yesterday detained four suspects, ranging in ages from 19 to 24, all from Mohess Road. Residents said Lochan was last seen around 5.30 pm. A villager recalled, “he went into his house and came back out around 5 pm. That is probably when he called the police. Lochan came into the bar, but did not say anything about a break-in. He went back home and we didn’t hear anything again.” Police believe when Lochan returned home from the bar, he confronted the intruders and, during a struggle, was bludgeoned to death. The killers then escaped through a canefield at the back of the house.

Police retrieved a beer bottle, shirt and another piece of clothing near the crime scene. After the body was viewed by the District Medical Officer, it was removed to the Forensic Science Centre where efforts were being made for an autopsy yesterday to ascertain cause of death. In April, Lochan’s son Pradeep, 32, and grandson Cameron, aged four, were killed in a vehicular accident on the Churchill Roosevelt Highway. Visiting the crime scene yesterday were officers from the Barrackpore and Princes Town police and detectives from the Southern Homicide Bureau. Investigations are continuing.