Following the discovery of the body of businessman Ganga Persaud on Saturday morning, several persons including his common-law wife are in custody.

Police said they are assisting with investigations.

Persaud, a wire rope dealer of 1624 Nineteenth Street, New Diamond Housing Scheme, East Bank Demerara, left home on Friday for drinks with friends.

About 8:00h Saturday morning, his body was discovered in his car trunk by police after residents summoned them observing the strange car, PEE 587, parked at Eight Street, New Diamond Housing Scheme.

Residents said they did not hear any strange sounds Friday night but recalled the insistent barking of the dogs and noticed the car there shortly after midnight.

The 52-year-old man was using his brother’s car when he was killed, relatives said.

His wife told investigators that she last heard from him when she telephoned him to enquire about his whereabouts.

She said Persaud told her he was on his way home and was driving in the Agricola area on the East Bank Demerara.

It is believed that the businessman was strangled to death. His body bore several cuts and scrapes.

When taken from the car trunk, the body was fully dressed, but without shoes, and duct tape and a bicycle tube were removed from his nose and mouth.

Following the discovery of the body, police visited the man’s residence and spent several hours searching the house, while they grilled his common-law wife.

His wife and two grown children, who reside overseas, have since been informed of the murder.

His mother, Sukhai Ramsingh, 77, of 100 Goed Fortuin, West Coast, Demerara, told the Guyana Chronicle that she last saw her son alive on Mother’s Day when he showed up to visit her.

“What did my son do to deserve to die in such a manner?” she asked.

The grieving woman, scores of relatives and friends expressed shock at the murder, and they all wept openly when the Guyana Chronicle visited on Saturday.

He was described as a peace-loving individual. He has left to mourn his two grown children and his wife, who live overseas, 10 siblings and scores of relatives.