By Marvin Cato | HGP Nightly News |
BATH SETTLEMENT, WEST COAST BERBICE — Stunned by grief and disbelief, the paternal grandmother of six-year-old Orlando Jaikarran has broken her silence, recounting the agonizing moment she looked into the eyes of her 45-year-old son, Bharrat Jaikarran, and asked him directly if he had harmed his missing child.
He looked back, she said, and emphatically assured her: “No, Mommy, no.”
Hours later, that maternal trust was shattered when detectives from the Guyana Police Force confirmed that Jaikarran had reportedly confessed to taking the boy out under the guise of an early-morning fishing trip and tossing him into a drainage canal near the Bath Settlement sea dam because a local pujari claimed the child was not his biological son.
The Confrontation: ‘I Asked Him Directly’
Speaking to the media following the retrieval of her grandson’s remains, the grandmother described the frantic hours after young Orlando was first reported missing:
- Direct Family Interrogation: When the six-year-old could not be located, the grandmother confronted her son point-blank about the boy’s whereabouts and safety.
- Vehement Denial: Rather than showing agitation or remorse, Bharrat Jaikarran adamantly insisted he had done nothing to the boy, reassuring his mother that he would never inflict cruelty or violence on his own offspring.
- False Reassurance: Convinced by his calm demeanor, the grandmother believed him, holding out hope that young Orlando had simply wandered off or remained safe elsewhere.
“Me asked he if you do anything… ‘No mommy, no,'”– the grandmother recalled of the exchange that gave her a brief, false sense of relief.
‘He Made My Head Hang Down’: The Burden of Betrayal
The news of the father’s reported confession hit the matriarch with devastating force, leaving her grappling with the betrayal of a son she thought she knew:
- Total Disbelief: The grandmother explained that there were never any complaints or warning signs from Orlando or his siblings indicating they were being abused, starved, or mistreated by their father.
- Public Shame and Heartbreak: Expressing profound anguish, she described the immense public shame and emotional devastation her son’s alleged actions have brought upon their family name.
“Me feel so bad wuh meh gon… [do]… expect am fuh do this thing this,” she wept, struggling to comprehend how a parent could commit such an act against a defenseless child.
“This boy mek me head look down… [never expect this]… go by he home.”
Tragic Closure at the Sea Dam
The grandmother’s testimony provides another heartbreaking angle to the tragedy that has shocked the Bath Settlement community and the wider nation.
Investigators confirmed that it was only after sustained interrogation by Region Five detectives that Bharrat Jaikarran broke down and provided the coordinates to the canal near the Bath Settlement sea dam, where ranks located Orlando’s decomposed body shortly before 2:00 AM on Monday.
The suspect remains under close police guard at a regional lockup, with homicide detectives finalizing the case file for submission to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for formal murder charges.
