7 News Belize

An Execution In Orange Walk
posted (June 13, 2012)
The recent spate of killings and crime has been concentrated in the Belize and Cayo Districts, but last night Orange Walk Town witnessed a stunning murder: the execution of an Indian shop-owner.

It happened in the downtown area - where a businessman was killed with ruthless precision.

Monica Bodden has the story:

Monica Bodden Reporting

The shooting of 44 year old Sunil Punjabi happened inside his store on Guadalupe Street.

He was shot once to the face- and managed to make his way to the side door of his store - where he collapsed.

It was an execution style murder - no robbery was involved. The businessman seemed to have been the precise target.

At the time of the incident, Punjabi was behind his counter serving the only customer inside the store- when a gunman, dressed in full black, entered.

The man pushed the customer out the way and fired the one fatal head shot at Punjabi. The gunman then rode off on a bicycle.

Neighbors say they heard one gunshot rang off around 7:45 last night -

Voice of: Neighbor
"It was about 8. It was raining hard and thundering, and we suddenly heard a sound but it was different from the thundering. We wondered what it was, but we eventually realized that it was the sound of a gun. We came downstairs and saw what happened, and we saw that Mr. Punjabi was lying down and blood was on the floor."

Sunil Punjabi's older brother, Mukesh, received the news shortly after the incident. When he arrived at his brother's store, he saw Punjabi lying on the ground dead, with a bullet lodged between his nose bridge and one of his eyes.

Mukesh Punjabi - Brother of Deceased
"I myself don't understand what happened, and I was right there in the shop. One of my friends called me and told me that they shot my brother, and when I came, I found him dead. They shot him right in the center of his head, only one shot."

Monica Bodden
"Now I understand that a cousin of his was inside the store along with him. What did he say happened?"

Mukesh Punjabi
"He just told me that someone came inside, pushed him, and just shoot him. The man then left; that's all."

Monica Bodden
"So, no robbery?"

Mukesh Punjabi
"Nothing like that, nothing was stolen. He just came, shot him, and it was done."

Today this black bow hangs at Lucky's Grocery Shop - while its owner lay dead in the hospital morgue. His friends, family and the entire community grieve his tragic loss and the only question left in everyone's mind is, who would want this Indian Businessman dead?

Mukesh Punjabi
"I can't explain how hard it is for us. He was my only brother. I don't have any other one. My mother, brother and I are the ones in the family, and I can't explain how hard we are taking it, along with everyone who knows him very well. The Belizean people are crying for him, the ones who know him. They want to know how this happened, and they can't believe it. He was a good man, very friendly. The people from the neighborhood who knew him also cared for him. When they heard the news, everybody came out to see. He used to come out to do his errands, and he would return. That's it because we don't have time to finish all the work sometimes. In the shop culture, we have to be present."

Monica Bodden
"Did he ever mention to you that his life is in danger or anything like that?"

Mukesh Punjabi
"No, we never mess around with anybody in our life. We just know that we have to work hard for our family and ourselves. That's it. If somebody did say something, we are 'Okay, sorry sir.' And we just leave it like that."

So far, no suspects have been detained.

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