Family members of the 30-year-old man who was shot dead allegedly by police are refuting the claims surrounding the circumstances of the man’s death.
Police claimed that the man first opened fire at the ranks, causing them to retaliate, but family members say this is untrue.
Dead is Deanraj Singh, called “Steve”, a fisherman of Riverview Squatting Area, Ruimveldt, Georgetown.
Police said he was repeatedly abused his ex-wife and had been in constant violation of a protection order.
Reports are that Singh and his ex-wife, a 32-year-old mother of three, had separated several years ago. However, Singh would still visit the woman’s home and assault her. As such, on June 25, 2021, the woman was granted a Protection Order by the court against him.
But the Police have said that, “Despite the order being granted, he consistently violated the order by going to her house and beating her up, and damaging her property.”
The Police have said that the man had also been charged with break-and-enter and larceny and other offences, including assault. In fact, two arrest warrants had been issued for his arrest.
At around 20:00h on Tuesday, the woman was at home when Singh went into her house and severely beat her. The woman contacted the Ruimveldt Police Station and reported the incident, and several Police ranks, including Neighbourhood Police, visited the area.
“One of the Police ranks was carrying a .38 revolver and six live rounds,” Police Headquarters explained in a statement.
The ranks reportedly went to a house at Riverview, Ruimveldt, where the suspect and some friends were consuming alcohol. When Singh saw the ranks, he ran into a house, jumped through a window, and dashed towards the Demerara River, which led to the cops and the victim going after him.
“One of the Police ranks claims that while walking on the landing heading towards the river, he heard a sound coming from the bushes on the riverbank, so he quickly (shone) his torchlight in (that) direction, and saw [Singh] with an object in his right hand, which was followed by a loud explosion, so he immediately discharged two rounds in [Singh’s] direction, and he saw him run and jump into the Demerara River,” the Police explained.
A search was then conducted for the man, but he was not found.
Meanwhile, following the police statement on the shooting, this publication visited Singh’s relatives, who all argued that the man had been unarmed at the time of the shooting.
“Since the night, 4 of them went out here drinking. I went lay down in my (bed). the Police them come, run the man, the man run (into) the house, from the house the man run through the window. When he run through the window, he had no knife, no gun, nothing on he,” the owner of the house, who chose to remain anonymous, has said.
She stated that the Police, after continuously chasing the unarmed man, started to shoot at him, and that led to his demise.
“Them shoot the man! They know they hit the man! Them ain’t tell nobody nothing; they go away…left the man to die, and didn’t tell nobody nothing… They know they shoot the man! The night before, they did not come with a gun; (the following day) they come to pick up he body.” the woman has said.
Singh’s friends, who are claiming that he was murdered by the police, are now calling for justice.
“They kill he! And when the post mortem come, we would like to see the ‘how as’ he dead!”
On the other hand, an aunt of Singh’s, who has asked to remain anonymous, admitted that the man had been abusive.
“When he drinks, he baderation; when he sober, he deh good. He never tells me nothing bad or buse me or so, he is a nice boy to me,” she said.
The woman has also said that the couple, who had been together for some nine years, had produced two children, and had still been living under the same roof.
“Steve all time is be there, but when she and he get story, he does go way and come back,” she explained.
The woman added that she is deeply saddened by her nephew’s death, and hopes that a proper investigation is conducted.
“Me nah feel good at all…I helped look he after. He mother put he in the orphanage, and when my mother died, we go and take he out,” she added.
The body of the victim has since been examined by crime scene technicians, who have discovered one suspected gunshot wound to the right side of his abdomen.
The body is at the Memorial Gardens Mortuary awaiting a post mortem. The area was searched, but no trace of a firearm allegedly used by the victim was discovered.
The hands of both the suspect and the Police rank, as well as clothing, were collected for the examination of gunpowder residue, as investigations continue.
