Fort Wellington Police Prosecutor dancing to the tune of Abel Seetaram

Apr 30, 2018 Letters

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Dear Editor,
In Region 5, the name Abel Seetaram is synonymous with disorderly behaviour. He avoids prosecution because of his close friendship with Corporal Rochelle Mars, Court Prosecutor attached to the Fort Wellington Magistrate Court.
Although, there is no evidence of the Minister’s direct involvement, the same cannot be said of Police Court Prosecutor, Cpl Rochelle Mars.
On Saturday, June 3, 2017, the APNU+AFC Region 5 RDC Councillor was taken to the Fort Wellington Police Station on charges made against him by his neighbour, Mrs. Meenawati Jainauth for alleged threatening behaviour and indecent exposure.
The night before, Abel Seetaram got home drunk and launched a verbal assault on his neighbour, accusing her of snitching on him. He allegedly dropped his pants and exposed himself to his neighbour and her 16-year old daughter, and allegedly threatened to have them raped.
Seetaram was arrested and placed on $15,000 bail. Although both Mrs. Jainauth and her young daughter gave evidence to the Fort Wellington Police to this effect, when the case was called on July 12, 2017, it was discovered that Abel Seetaram was never charged with the more serious offences of Indecent Exposure and Endangering the Welfare of a Minor.
On March 23, 2017, Guyana Times reported, “APNU/AFC officials implicated in multimillion-dollar fraud”. It is alleged that Carol Joseph, while serving as a Member of the MARDS Board of Directors, fraudulently wrote cheques totaling over $6 million. She was implicated along with Abel Seetaram, for allegedly taking $2,108,000 to repair a government owned SUV and a fence he had crashed into at Bath, West Coast Berbice on May 8, 2016 while driving drunk.
He was then charged with driving in a dangerous manner; being an unlicensed driver; and breach of insurance. The money he allegedly misappropriated was used to repair the MARDS vehicle and the businessman’s fence, which were both badly damaged. Interestingly, the money that Seetaram claimed it cost to repair the vehicle, exceeds the original value of that very vehicle when it was imported duty free.
Following the crash, Abel Seetaram was fired as the Region 5 Special Representative to the Prime Minister, by none other than the Hon. Moses Nagamootoo. To date, this money has not been accounted for in any way, and neither Seetaram nor Carol Joseph has been prosecuted for fraud and misconduct in public office contrary to the common law.
Then on January 21, 2018, Abel Seetaram’s son was involved in a physical altercation with Avikar Rabindranauth, whose father and Abel Seetaram are first cousins. Avikar’s father, Natheram Rabindranauth, commonly known as “Diamond”, was returning home after plying his plantain chips trade when he saw the two boys fighting.
He stopped and told his son to go home. Abel Seetaram allegedly emerged from a nearby rum-shop, picked up a piece of wood, and lashed his cousin across the face, breaking his nose and fracturing his jaw. “Diamond” spent two days at the New Amsterdam Hospital while Seetaram was released on $100,000 bail.
During the trial, before Her Worship, Magistrate Rondel Weaver at the Fort Wellington Magistrate Court, the Court Prosecutor, Cpl. Rochelle Mars failed to produce Natheram Rabindranauth’s (“Diamond’s”) x-rays and medical records in Court; she also failed to cross-examine a police witness who testified under oath that “Diamond” told her that Abel Seetaram cuffed him several times. When in fact, Diamond told me he had never seen her before that day in Court.
The illegal entry, she is believed to have made in the Occurrence Book was admitted as evidence, and is an attempt to have the Court dismiss the more serious charges of Assault with Intent and Felonious Wounding for which Seetaram is charged.
Court Prosecutor, Cpl. Rochelle Mars also failed to give the Court and Seetaram’s defense lawyers a copy of Seetaram’s police statement which in effect, prevented the newly appointed Court Prosecutor from cross-examining Abel Seetaram and pointing out inconsistencies in the statement he gave in the witness box to the written statement he signed the day he was arrested.
A late application to get this statement admitted as evidence was denied by Her Worship, Magistrate Rondel Weaver, who said she will not allow the Prosecutor to “ambush the Defence.”
Although she was replaced as the prosecutor after a letter of complaint was sent to the DPP by Natheram Rabindranauth (“Diamond”), Cpl. Rochelle Mars had already done an injustice to the victim of a brutal assault, and made a mockery of our Judiciary.
Before this trial begun, Seetaram made several attempts through family members to offer “Diamond” as much as $600,000 to settle this case out of Court. He refused because this was not the first time “Diamond” was physically assaulted by Seetaram.
Of the two boys that were fighting, only “Diamond’s” son was charged with Common Assault. This case was dismissed after Seetaram’s son refused to testify against his cousin. To my surprise, a warrant was again issued for “Diamond’s” son, Avikar Rabindranauth, and again it was dismissed when a defence “witness” refused to go to Court to perjure himself. As confirmation of the dismissal of this case, an authorization was given to uplift the bail money.
Last evening, I received a call from “Diamond”, informing me that Corporal Hope of the Fort Wellington Police Station, came to his home and “invited” his son to go with him to the station. While there, he was locked up on instructions of Court Prosecutor, Cpl. Rochelle Mars, pending another warrant for his arrest for the same charge that was dismissed twice before.
I spoke to Sgt. David, the Officer-in-Charge of Fort Wellington Police Station by phone, and she confirmed that she was given instructions to have Avikar Rabindranauth arrested although she was not in receipt of an arrest warrant. She advised that I call Court Prosecutor, Cpl. Rochelle Mars.
I did, as well as and ASP Davidson, but neither answered my many calls. Avikar Rabindranauth was arrested and locked up without a warrant, in violation of his Constitutional Rights. And the person who gave the order to have him arrested is Abel Seetaram’s guardian angel, Court Prosecutor, Cpl. Rochelle Mars.
Natheram Rabindranauth has since retained the services of counsel, Attorney Moti Singh who subsequently requested the intervention of ASP Davidson in an effort to have his client released on reasonable bail.
Oddly, as head of the Fort Wellington Police Station, ASP Davidson could neither justify the reason for detaining Avikar Rabindranauth nor for the issuance of an arrest warrant. Despite this, bail was refused; although Attorney Moti Singh threatened legal actions for false imprisonment and malicious prosecution.
With this false arrest, It is evident that the Fort Wellington Police Prosecutor is dancing to the tune of Abel Seetaram, in an effort to pressure Natheram Rabindranauth (Diamond) to drop the case against the Region 5 Bad Boy.
This will not happen. For despite efforts by Cpl Rochelle Mars to suppress evidence that will finally convict Abel Seetaram and make him accountable for his reckless behaviour, I am confident that Magistrate Rondel Weaver will impose a sentence that is just and fair, and send a strong message to Abel Seetaram and other public officials that they are accountable for their actions in upholding the Laws of Guyana.
I once again call upon AFC Leader, the Hon. Raphael Trotman and Minister Ronald Bulkan to condemn the despicable continuous behaviour of this Region 5 APNU+AFC Regional Councillor who behaves as though he’s above the law, and to do what the Honourable Prime Minister has already done… cut him loose!
Harry Gill
PPP/C Member of Parliament

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