Mash Day murder trial… Brother maintains accused were among mob that attacked sibling

Mar 20, 2015 Court Stories, Features / Columnists, News

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Navindra Mohabir, the brother of murdered businessman, Kumar Mohabir, has maintained that the two accused participated in the stabbing incident which led to the death of his younger sibling.

He is the final witness to take the stand in the murder trial of Devon Thomas and Randy Isaac.  After he testified yesterday, State Prosecutors, Stacy Gooding and Diana Kaulesar indicated they have no further witnesses to call, closing the case.
Thomas and Isaac are accused of being among a group of men who brutally attacked and stabbed Mohabir, called “Duksy” and “Fire Link” of Fernandes Street, Enterprise, East Coast Demerara , on Vlissengen Road, on February 23, 2013.  The victim operated a tent rental business at his residence.  He was attacked after he went to the location to collect a tent he rented to his neighbours for the Republic Day celebrations.
Mohabir was allegedly stabbed by a group of intoxicated persons, armed with broken bottles. He was subsequently rushed to the Woodlands Hospital where he died while receiving treatment.  The businessman’s older brother, Navindra was also wounded in the attack. He was treated at the institution and sent away.
Subsequent investigations led to the arrest of the two accused.  Thomas and Isaac are facing Justice Navindra Singh and a mixed 12-member jury at the High Court in Georgetown.  They are being represented by Attorneys Latchmie Rahamat and Peter Hugh.
In his evidence yesterday, (Mohabir), the Prosecution’s main witness recalled that he stood a few feet away from his brother as a group of men attacked, beat and mortally wounded him.
Mohabir told the court that he rushed to his brother’s assistance and tried to shield him from the ‘blows,’

but he too was wounded in the process.  He recalled that on Mashramani 2013 he and his younger brother had left their Enterprise, ECD residence for Georgetown to collect a tent which had been rented to their neighbours.
He recounted that they took his two sons and niece along for the ride.  The witness told the court that after arriving in Georgetown they observed the celebrations for awhile before proceeding to location on Vlissengen Road to disassemble the tent. Mohabir recalled that it was after his brother left to purchase drinks for the children that he was attacked and stabbed by a group of persons.  He noted that the two accused were amongst the attackers.
Mohabir was then subject to a series of questions by the Defence, but he maintained the two accused are responsible for inflicting the injuries which lead to his brother’s death. Under cross examination, the witness was asked whether he could recall what his surroundings looked like prior to the incident.
The man told the court that he stood a few feet away from a music set and bar. He said that a group of persons were dancing nearby. Mohabir said that he recognized four of the persons dancing.
The defence attorney (Rahamat) then inquired from the witness whether he was always in a position to see the faces of persons while they were, “screwing the bulb and spinning around,” as he had described.
Mohabir maintained that because he knew the persons he was able to recognize them.  The witness told the court that it was within the few seconds that his brother walked over to the bar to purchase drinks that he

was attacked.
He said that he rushed over and pulled the persons off his brother, who had fallen to the ground.  The man said that he dealt one of the attackers “a cuff,” to the face before he proceeded to shield his younger sibling.  Mohabir said that it was at this point that he was also injured. He said that the men beat and stabbed his brother about his body.
Rahamat then suggested to the witness that he failed to mention those details to a reporter who interviewed him one day after the incident. In response, Mohabir said that he could not recall what he told the reporter since he was on medication for the injuries he sustained.  He however noted that he didn’t believe what he had to say to a reporter was as important as what he had to tell the police.
The witness also recalled that he saw Thomas at Woodlands Hospital while he was there receiving treatment. He said that he did not raise an alarm at the time because he did not know his brother was going to die.  Mohabir said too that he did not mention this to anyone at the time, because his relatives were not around and the male nurse who had been tending to his wounds, could not relate, since he spoke Hindi.
On Wednesday, Government Pathologist told the court that a post mortem examination revealed that Kumar Mohabir died as a result of multiple stab wounds.
Under cross examination by the defence, Dr. Singh related that he checked the body and around the wounds for glass fragments but he did not find anything.  The doctor however, noted that injuries were caused by a sharp object.
Deputy Superintendent Booker also testified. He told the court that he conducted an identification parade involving Randy Isaac (the number two accused). The officer said that prior to the exercise he told the accused that he was a suspect in the February 23 stabbing that led to the death of Kumar Mohabir. The officer said that Navindra Mohabir attended the parade and identified Isaac as one of the persons who stabbed his brother.

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