Guyanese police on Saturday did not rule out a political motive in the killing of the country's Agriculture Minister, Satyadeow Sawh, and two of his siblings -- all Canadian citizens -- and planned to heighten security for some political figures.
"While we see the appearances of a robbery, we would not rule out any other consideration," said Police Commissioner Winston Felix when asked to react to claims by top government officials and the governing Peoples Progressive Party (PPP) that Sawh's killing was an assassination.
Robert Persaud, spokesman for President Bharrat Jagdeo, said the murders "smacks of an assassination," but he refused to blame any person or organization.
The police commissioner said the killing of Sawh, 50, came one day after he and other top officers were planning to increase security for government and opposition figures ahead of elections postponed from Aug. 4 to any time after Aug. 30.
With the police and army so far unable to crush heavily armed gangs that have emerged more than four years ago, the police commissioner is pushing ahead with plans to improve security for politicians in and out of government ahead of polling day.
"The extent to which security concerns are being raised is more than justified because this incident, we now have to focus heavily on the security in the persons in category of ministers," Felix told a news conference.
Also killed are Sawh's sister, Rajpatri Sawh, 62, Phulmattie Persaud, 54, both of Toronto, Canada, and a security guard, 38-year-old Curtis Robinson. Sustaining gunshot wounds were Sawh's brother 53-year-old Omprakash Sawh and two other security guards Albert Mangru, 63, and Augu Khan, 53.
The minister's wife, Sattie Sawh, said she hid from the gunmen during the 10-minute ordeal and her two sons were not at home.
"I honestly don't know why they killed them because they demanded cash and jewelery and yet still they turned around and they shoot them," she told reporters, while family members, relatives, friends and government officials mingled, consoling each other.
The murders comes three months after the gunning down of a TV talk-show host and activist.
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