Murder suspect jailed for escaping from police custody

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Jankie Tapsie
Jankie Tapsie

A woman, who escaped from the Springlands Police Station lockups in November 2020 after she was arrested for the murder of an elderly woman, has been jailed.

Jankie Tapsie also called Samantha Khan of Lot 180 Grass Fields Village Lusiguan East Coast Demerara appeared at the Number 51 Magistrate’s Court before Magistrate Alex Moore on Wednesday. The 29-year-old pleaded guilty to the charge, which stated that she escaped from lawful custody. The woman was sentenced to a six-month jail term.

On November 19, police issued a wanted bulletin for Tapsie who had escaped from custody after being held in connection with the murder of the elderly La Grange woman, Bibi Nasmonisha Ramjit.

Authorities were of the view that the woman had gone to Suriname via the ‘back track’ route. As such the Police contacted their counterparts in that country in their bid to find her. She was arrested in the Dutch-speaking nation and handed over to Police in Guyana about a week ago.

On October 25, 2020, Ramjit, an elderly shop owner, was found dead with her mouth gagged in her La Grange, West Bank Demerara home.

The woman’s house was reportedly ransacked, thus leaving investigators to work with the theory that the woman who lives alone, was killed during the commissioning of a robbery.
It was reported that about four months prior to her death, Ramjit was terrorised, assaulted and robbed by several men who invaded her home. They escaped with a large sum of money.

According to a family member, Ramjit did not make a report to the Police, since she was fearful that the robbers would return. One month after that incident, Ramjit was again robbed while she was sleeping in her hammock.

It is believed that the same group of men who committed the first robbery entered her home and removed an undisclosed sum of money, which had been kept in one of the bedrooms of the house.

On the day, Ramjit was murdered, one of her customers had gone to pay some money that he owed her, but after calling out several times and receiving no response, he thought something was amiss since both the doors to her shop and house were opened.

As such, he went into the house where he made the horrific discovery. He raised an alarm and the Police were contacted.

One month after the woman’s body was discovered, a 34-year-old taxi driver was charged with her murder. Rishiram Singh, also known as ‘Shane,’ 34 of Lot 204 D’Anrade Street, Newtown, Kitty, is currently before the court for murder. It was after his arrest, that Police began searching for Tapsie also called Samantha Khan. Jamkie is expected to be slapped with a murder charge.

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