Five alleged kidnappers remanded

Apr 18, 2014 News

– Lawyers claim police beatings for confessions, name officers

By Latoya Giles and Sunita Samaroo
Five men accused of murdering businessman Rajendra Singh, who was kidnapped on April 5, last and later found dead in Le Repentir Cemetery, were yesterday remanded.

Dead: Rajendra Singh

It is alleged that the men Adony James, 31, of Roxanne Burnham Gardens; Sheldon Chase, 34, a miner, of Pike Street, Kitty; Doodnauth Ketwaroo called “Pumpkin”, 27, of Good Hope, ECD; Tony Thomas, 27, of Bel Air, and Michael Lewis called “Jet Li”, 37, of Sheriff Street, between April 5 and April 9, murdered Rajendra Singh.
The men all appeared before Magistrate Ann McLennan at the Georgetown Magistrates’ Court. They were not required to enter pleas since the offence is indictable.
Attorney James Bond, who represented Tony Thomas, made allegations of severe beating by the investigating ranks. According to Bond, his client was dragged from his home last Friday and taken into custody. The lawyer alleged that Thomas received a severe beating at the hands of the lawmen to confess to a crime of which he has no knowledge.
Bond went on to tell the court that the ranks could be identified.
“Your worship I’m instructed by my client that it was Corporal (name given) and Inspector (name given) who inflicted the beating,” Bond told the court.
The lawyer went on to give the court details of the beating.
“I’m again instructed by my client that a plastic bag was placed over his head and he was struck with an object” Bond said.
The lawyer also made allegations of his client not hearing from his right ear, to which he asked the court to ensure that the man is given a medical and the report be forwarded to him.
He noted that Thomas had no previous antecedents and has an alibi.
“My client is not part of a gang” the lawyer told court before asking for an early trial date.
Attorney Gordon Gilhuys echoed some of the same sentiments as Bond. According to Gilhuys, his two clients, Ketwaroo and Lewis, were both beaten by the police.
The lawyer told the court that he had visited Ketwaroo on Tuesday at the Vigilance Police Station. Gilhuys said that his client told him that he suffered a “blackout” due to the severe beating that was inflicted on him by the police.
“Senior officers (names provided), I’m instructed, were the ones who inflicted the beating on my client,” Gilhuys told the court.
Gilhuys further stated that plastic bags were placed over his client’s head before he was forced to sign a confession statement.
According to the lawyer, he made a complaint to a cadet officer who was on duty.
Gilhuys said that he had made a request to the police to have his client examined by a medical doctor. The lawyer said that the request was fulfilled, but he needed a copy of that report by the doctor.
Gilhuys went on to state that on April 14, he visited his other client, Lewis, at the Beterverwagting Police Station. The lawyer said that Lewis had injuries to the head and he had made the request to have him looked at by a medical doctor.
Gilhuys sought to seek the court’s intervention in this regard.
Attorney Sidella Ferrell, who appeared in association with Trenton Lake, represented Adony James. According to Ferrell, she was instructed by her client that he was beaten by the police while in custody. She said that James has vehemently denied any involvement.
The fifth accused, Sheldon Chase, was unrepresented.
Police Prosecutor Steven Telford asked the court for report and fixture. He said that there are about 31 witnesses listed by the prosecution. Telford also asked the court to note that there were no visible injuries to any of the defendants.
However all the lawyers in response to Telford’s statement, said that not because there aren’t any visible injuries, means they do not exist. The magistrate subsequently granted the application for the Ketwaroo, Thomas, Lewis and James to be seen and examined by a doctor.
The matter is expected to be called on May 21.
On April 5 last Singh, his wife Heema, and two employees were about to close his business to go home when two men, while pretending to be purchasers of auto spares, approached them.
They then held their victims at gunpoint, before bundling the businessman into the trunk of his Toyota Ist and driving away.
The vehicle was found abandoned at Goedverwagting, East Coast Demerara.
Investigators suspected that the kidnappers might be East Coast Demerara residents, particularly since Singh’s car was found not far from where they had focused their attention.
A caller claiming to be one of the kidnappers had instructed relatives of the auto spares dealer to hand over $50M on April 5 – the same day that he was abducted. They subsequently changed their demand to $25M.
Singh was allowed to speak to his wife on April 6 and again on April 7, while demanding the video recording from the CCTV cameras that are mounted around the auto dealer’s business place. Singh was later found dead on April 9.