Family up in arms as suspects charged with manslaughter

Mar 16, 2017 Court Stories, Features / Columnists, News

…accuse police of not doing enough

The family of Aslam Gafoor, who died last Wednesday after he was brutally beaten into unconsciousness some five months ago by four men, are not happy because two of the men have only been charged with manslaughter.
Gafoor, 22, a cane harvester and father of two of Lot 235 No. 77 Corentyne, Berbice, died in the Georgetown Public Hospital, even after undergoing a number of surgeries.
The four men were subsequently arrested, but only Haresh Persaud, 19, of Lot 5 No. 75 Village, Corentyne, Berbice, was charged with attempted murder. He appeared before Magistrate Rabindranauth Singh in the Springlands Magistrate’s Court and was granted bail, on his first appearance in the sum of $500,000. At the time the victim was still critically ill and in an unconscious state in the Georgetown Hospital.
After the man’s death Persaud and one Vashie Sukhoo, the car driver of Skeldon, Corentyne were charged with manslaughter. They appeared again before Magistrate Singh in the Springlands Magistrate’s Court and just like the first time were immediately granted bail in the sum of $500,000.
Gafoor was ambushed and beaten around 17:30 hrs on October 21, last, by the men with pieces of wood and a lug spanner which was subsequently flung at him and stuck in his head. The incident occurred in the No. 77 Housing Scheme area.
According to Gafoor’s mother, Bibi N. Shakemohamed, the accused began threatening her son over a year ago. This was after he was warned not to interfere with her daughter. The accused began to threaten to kill her son. On two previous occasions the accused and his colleagues attacked Gafoor and damaged his motorcycle in the process.
The matter was reported. However, the police advised him to forget about the matter since the case will take a long time in the court.
Gafoor was attacked at a school sports event at Skeldon by the accused, his brother and two others. He subsequently left the event on his motorcycle with the men trailing him in a car.
Gafoor sought refuge at a relative in the Housing Scheme. The men attempted to damage his bike which he left on the road. In an attempt to retrieve his bike he was attacked and beaten. When he tried to escape, a lug spanner was thrown at him. The spanner got stuck in his head. He was floored and the perpetrators escaped.
He was picked up in an unconscious condition with blood oozing from his body and rushed to the Skeldon Hospital. He was immediately transferred to the New Amsterdam Hospital and then to the Georgetown Public Hospital for emergency surgeries.
The man underwent a number of surgeries to his head due to internal bleeding and swelling on his brain.
The family is not happy and believes that the accused should be charged with murder, citing the circumstances in which the incident occurred.

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