The Guyana Police Force has revealed that former Local Government and Regional Development Minister Nigel Dharamlall is currently being questioned at the Cove and John Police Station regarding sexual assault allegations made against him by a young woman.
“Relative to the sexual assault allegations levelled against former minister Nigel Dharamlall, at 9:20hrs this morning, Mr Dharamlall turned himself into Police at Cove and John Police Station, ECD. Investigators are currently questioning him in relation to the allegations made,” a statement from the Force’s Corporate Communication Unit detailed today.
Last week, a 28-year-old woman alleged that she was sexually molested by the embattled former minister.
Dharamlall, who is a current executive of the ruling People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C), had resigned in July 2023 following rape allegations levelled against him by a 16-year-old girl. The teenager subsequently withdrew her police complaint in the presence of one of her parents and a representative from the Child Care Agency.
During a virtual press conference on Friday, the 28-year-old victim, who topped Guyana at the CSEC exams several years ago, detailed two separate incidents when she was sexually molested against her will.
The first, she revealed, was committed back in September 2020 at State House in Anna Regina, where she was invited by the then minister to be interviewed for a job. She claimed that, upon arriving, she was taken into a bedroom, where she was sexually assaulted. She described feeling trapped and violated as she resisted the official’s advances.
The woman revealed that the second incident occurred in 2021 at the former minister’s residence in Cummings Lodge. She admitted that she was hesitant to report the matter, considering the extent of corruption within the Police Force, and more importantly, she did not want her name to be dragged into the mud.
However, hours after the accusation surfaced, the former government official issued a statement vehemently refuting the claims made against him. Dharamlall said he had rebuffed advances by the young woman after which her demeanour “fundamentally changed” towards him.
He believes that the woman is on a campaign to “malign and tarnish” his reputation.
Over the weekend, Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum had confirmed to this publication that a complaint of misconduct was lodged in Division 4C (East Coast Demerara) but is also engaging the attention of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) at Police Headquarters, Eve Leary.
