Four persons have provided investigators in Berbice with confession statements as to their involvement in the fatal beating of a Crabwood Creek, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) religious leader on Saturday night.
Pandit Rishi Bharrat
Rishi Bharrat, 60, was attacked and beaten to death outside of his Lot 10 Grant 106 Crabwood Creek home after he requested that the disorderly men who were all imbibing remove from in front of his home. A post-mortem examination on his body has been scheduled for Wednesday.
There are reports that eight young men were in front of the pandit’s home imbibing, using foul language and behaving disorderly.
Bharrat had reportedly gone out to the group to confront them since he was unsuccessful in his bid to get them to go elsewhere when he spoke to them from his window.
Police arrested eight persons on Sunday morning, and three more later on Sunday.
On Monday, another person was arrested and four of them have provided investigators with confession statements about their involvement in the beating.
Reports are that the group were at a wedding celebration at Number 70 Village, also on the Corentyne and the event was stopped by the Police as part of measures to enforce COVID-19 guidelines.
The group went to Crabwood Creek and purchased alcoholic beverages from a shop nearby and continued imbibing.
When Bharrat went out to them, there was an exchange of words between himself and the men and he was attacked.
Two persons of the group reportedly removed boards from a bridge which stretched across a canal and lashed the father of four, one of which hit his head.
He was also hit to the head with beer bottles after falling to the ground.
The pandit, who operated his own temple which was situated on the same premises, was pronounced dead at the Skeldon Hospital.
According to the now dead man’s wife, Jasmine, she had telephoned the Skeldon Police Station twice seeking Police intervention after complaining of noise nuisance and was told on the second occasion the Police were responding and were already in the community.
Meanwhile, this publication was told that the Skeldon Police Station has to share two motorbikes which also have to be used to patrol the Upper Corentyne and the Black Bush Polder areas. (G4)
