The Guyana Pandits Council has condemned the killing of six-year-old Orlando Jaikarran and rejected suggestions linking his death to religious sacrifice or sacred rituals, while calling for a comprehensive investigation and accountability regardless of religious standing.
In a statement signed by its head, Pandit Rudra Sharma, the council also warned against individuals who misuse spiritual titles or claims of divine powers to manipulate vulnerable people and offer dangerous advice.
“Religious standing, titles, or sacred garments must never serve as a shield or excuse for criminal conduct,” it stated.
The statement comes as a pujari remains in police custody alongside Orlando’s father, Bharrat Jaikarran, in connection with the investigation into the child’s death at Bath Settlement, West Coast Berbice.
Jaikarran has alleged that the pujari was involved in the killing. The pujari has denied involvement. Police confirmed that two men remained in custody and said six cutlasses and other items had been seized during a search of a Bath Settlement residence.
The council said it was responding to emerging reports and public discussion surrounding the tragedy.
“We categorically and unequivocally reject any notion, rumor, or suggestion that this tragedy involved a religious sacrifice or sacred ritual,” it stated.
It said Sanatana Dharma was founded on non-violence, compassion and respect for life, and that children were to be nurtured, protected and cherished.
Violence against a child, it said, represented a grave spiritual transgression and a violation of Hindu values. Attempts to associate the killing with Hindu rites or doctrines were false and misleading, the council maintained.
Its statement addresses religious teachings and public speculation; the circumstances and motive of the killing remain under police investigation.
Orlando’s body was recovered from the Waterloo Main Canal on Tuesday after days of searching. Police previously disclosed that the head and portions of the left hand and right foot were missing, and said preliminary investigations indicated that the child had been chopped to the neck with a cutlass.
Earlier reports stated that the father told investigators a pujari had said Orlando was not his biological child.
The council urged citizens to distance themselves from fraudulent practitioners who exploit fear and superstition under the guise of religion.
It said authentic spiritual practice should promote peace, moral responsibility and family harmony, and called on the police and judicial authorities to ensure that everyone responsible for the child’s death faced the law.
Expressing condolences to Orlando’s family and the Bath Settlement community, the council appealed for national unity in protecting children and rejecting the misuse of religion to justify h
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