Latest update November 29th, 2024 1:00 AM
Two accused in Robb Street arson/murder freed on no-case submission
Kaieteur News – The two persons accused of arson and murder in relation to the Robb Street fire, which claimed the lives of 63-year-old Hilrod Randolph Thomas and his two daughters, have been freed on a no-case submission.
Freed: Ganga Kishna
Freed: Avishkar Bissoon
The no-case submission was upheld by Justice Brassingston Reynolds at the High Court in Georgetown yesterday during a virtual hearing of the trial.
Avishkar Bissoon, 25, and his 75-year-old employer, Ganga Kishna, were jointly charged with three counts of murder for killing Thomas and his two daughters, 14-year-old Theresa Rozario and 11-year-old Clarissa Rozario, on November 17, 2014, after setting their house on fire.
The two, who joined the proceeding from the Lusignan prison via zoom, were initially scheduled for trial earlier this year. Their hearings were cancelled in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The trial of the two men accused of arson/murder recommenced following the opening of the October session of the Demerara Criminal Assizes, last week. Lawyers for the accused, Dexter Todd and Latchmie Rahamat contended early on, that there was no case to answer since the prosecution was not able to satisfy the elements of the offences of neither murder nor arson.
Murdered: Clarissa Rozario
Murdered: Theresa Rozario
In upholding this position, Justice Reynolds agreed that the evidence led by the prosecution was not sufficient to support the charges brought against the two accused. As a consequence, the judge directed the jury to formally return a verdict of not guilty, acquitting the former accused of the crimes.
At the commencement of the trial, State Counsel, Sarah Martin, who appeared in association with attorney, Shawnette Austin, called some five witnesses, including the victims’ sister and mother to the stand.
Murdered: Randolph Thomas
According to the facts presented by the prosecution, at the time of the incident, the two sisters were asleep when the Lot 65 Robb Street, Georgetown building they occupied with their father, was allegedly set on fire. The girls were trapped in the inferno and were burnt to death while their father jumped through a window to escape the flames.
The man sustained second and third degree burns and later succumbed on December 21, 2014 while receiving medical attention at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation. Following the tragic incident, Zamara Rozario, another daughter of Thomas, raised the suspicion of arson. She claimed that in 2009 there was a similar incident which involved persons throwing fireballs at the building. She said a fire had started, but it was quickly extinguished resulting in only a section of the building being burnt. The building was occupied by Thomas and several operators of small businesses at the time.
Police had subsequently reported that the evidence pointed to the building being torched to drive out individuals who were also claiming ownership of the property by prescriptive rights. It took detectives, mainly those stationed at the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Headquarters, Eve Leary, Georgetown two years to crack this case.
The cops arrested Bissoon and his employer Krishna who claimed to own the property after a drug addict reportedly confessed that he was offered money to set fire to the disputed building.
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