[www.inewsguyana.com] – The Police Officers fingered in the death of Asif Rahim Khatoon, a Meten-Meer-Zorg man will walk away with a slap on their wrists after the man’s wife failed to show up at an identification parade.
It was alleged that Khatoon was assaulted by police ranks while in custody at the Leonora Police Station during the evening of November 21, 2014.
A media release from the Guyana Police detailed that subsequent to the wife’s failure to produce herself for identification parade, the police men will be charged departmentally for neglect of duty.
“According to the advice of the Chairman of the Police Complaints Authority the wife of the deceased, Soorsattie Chandrapaul, failed to attend an identification parade which was to be held by the police for the purpose of affording her an opportunity to identify the police ranks who might have assaulted the deceased on the evening of November 21, 2014…due to her failure to attend the identification parade, the identity of the ranks who allegedly assaulted her husband remains unknown. Therefore there is no evidence linking any particular police rank to the injuries inflicted on the deceased. The Director of Public Prosecutions has advised that no criminal charges be preferred against any of the police ranks,” the release read.
In Chandrapaul’s statement to the police, she said that she heard her husband saying that he had been struck by a police rank who was in the tray of the vehicle on his way to the Leonora Police Station.
However, the police said that the evidence is “hearsay and cannot be relied upon.”
The release noted that Departmental Charges have been advised against two Sergeants, one Corporal, one Lance Corporal and two Constables for neglect of duty.
Additionally the police are seeking another man which the Chairman of the Police Complaints Authority (PCA) had advised that charges of manslaughter be brought against.
“Evidence collected during the investigations had revealed that another prisoner had allegedly assaulted Asif Rahim Khatoon while he was in custody. The prisoner had been released from custody prior to the launching of the investigations and efforts to locate him since have so far been unsuccessful,” the release revealed.
