Almost one week after 60-year-old Rishi Bharrat, a pandit, was beaten to death by a group of men in front of his Lot 10 Grant 106 Crabwood Creek, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) home, the police have charged six persons for the crime.
Those charged are Davendra Khemraj, Jayed Ghandi, Ramzan Ally, Anil Angeishalam, Vidanan Khemraj, and Gregory Tejpertab all of Crabwood Creek, Corentyne, Berbice.
They appeared before Magistrate Alex Moore at the Number 51 Village Magistrate’s Court today.
The men were not required to plead and they were remanded to prison until October 14.
Four of the accused have claimed that they were beaten by police during their time in custody.
As such, the Magistrate ordered that they be taken to see a doctor.
However, Police Prosecutor Inspector Orin Joseph told the court that the men had marks of violence when they were arrested.
It was reported the at the pandit was lashed to the head with a piece of wood and beer bottles. The man’s 11-year-old son was also injured in the attack.
Police initially stated that a group of eight men were imbibing and using foul language in front of the now dead man’s property and as such, Bharrat went out to the men with a piece of wood and told them to remove from the area. This was at about 02:15h.
However, the men became annoyed, armed themselves and begun hitting the religious leader about his body, causing him to collapse on the street.
He was picked up by his relatives in an unconscious state and rushed to the Skeldon Public Hospital but was pronounced dead on arrival.
