2010 carjacking murder…Accused denies killing taxi driver

Dec 09, 2015 Court Stories, Features / Columnists, News

Murder accused, Balram Singh has denied any involvement in the death of taxi driver, Bhomeshar Sukdeo.

Accused: Balram Singh

Sukdeo was reportedly kidnapped and robbed of his vehicle before he was murdered. His charred remains were identified on the Mocha Arcadia access road, days after he had gone missing. He was allegedly shot in the head and his body burnt.
The incident occurred between January 19 and January 27, 2010.
Singh provided the court with an unsworn statement in his defence yesterday.
The accused stood in the prisoners’ dock for almost two hours and continuously denied any involvement with the taxi driver’s murder.
“Meh ain’t kill nobody sir,” Singh insisted.
“I have no reason to kill nobody sir, to get money…I had two cars working. My wife was working.”
The man told the court that from the time of his arrest, he was beaten by the police. He claimed that he was coerced into signing the caution statement. He said that a police officer told him he would get to go home, if he affixed his signature.
Singh said that he eventually signed the statement because he wanted to go home. He told the court that he does not know the contents of the statement, since he does not know how to read or write properly. The accused went on to say that he “did not go far in school”, but worked hard to acquire certain things in life.
The man denied selling the victim’s car to the owner of a taxi service in Grove. He claimed that he worked on

Dead: Bhomeshar Sukdeo

a minibus for a period of time in Grove, and never knew the owner of the taxi service or anything about that service.
Singh is on trial at the Georgetown High Court before Justice Navindra Singh and a mixed 12- member jury.
On Monday, Prosecution witness, Travis David, testified that in 2010, he was living at Agricola, East Bank Demerara and was working with the taxi service, owned by Bharrat Narine.
He recalled that one day he met with Singh, who inquired from him whether his “boss man” buys vehicles
He said that Singh told him that he had a car to sell, but that it was in Berbice, and he introduced him to his employer. David told the court that the accused eventually sold a car to his boss for $600,000.
Following Singh’s statement yesterday, both State Prosecutor Narissa Leander and Defence Counsel Jermaine Jervis, submitted their closing arguments.
Jervis, in his closing address, asked the jury to consider that his client’s fingerprints were not found at the scene of the crime nor was there any evidence of blood there. The man also noted that his client suffered abuse at the hands of the police.
The summing up will be done today.