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Man Sought In `A Senseless Murder'

A P Kamath in New York

For several years, Teven Persaud, a tall, lanky young man, was known for being a hot-headed guy who had minor scrape with the law. He frequented the sports bars in Queens, watching cricket and listening to Hindi songs from the newest films. Now, Persaud, 22, is wanted in a murder at a wedding reception.

Police have identified Persaud as the gunman who shot and killed 19-year-old Abzal Khan, a wedding guest at a reception hall in Hicksville, following an argument and a fist fight. They are asking Persaud's friends and relatives to persuade him to surrender to the police.

Khan was shot dead as he was leaving to go home and his sister's boy friend was shot in the leg.

Police believe that Persaud, who worked as an electrician, had gate-crashed the reception of Jacqueline and Adrian Jagmohan, with an uninvited date.

"Someone either looked at his date or asked her to dance," said Detective Sargeant Daniel Severin. Persaud exchanged angry words, and a fight ensued. Though Khan never hit Persaud, he was in the group that had roused Persaud's anger.

Persaud, according to police officials, waited outside the reception hall with a gun, and shot Khan into the chest several times. Khan was accompanied by his brother, sister and sister's boyfriend when the shooting started. When he fell down, police said, Persaud walked to him and fired more shots.

Khan's friends described him as low-keyed immigrant who abhorred arms and violence. "Can anything be more senseless than this?" wondered Ram Ghulam, a cab driver. "These are kids. I mean, one guy is 22, and the other is 19. Isn't this a waste of two lives?"

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