Five men were on Thursday refused bail for allegedly murdering a cellular phone card dealer on the Corentyne last week.
The men appeared before Magistrate Charlyn Artiga at the Whim Magistrate’s Court and were not required to plead to the indictable charge.
As they were being taken to the court, there were chants from a packed courtyard of ‘murders’. One woman, who claimed to be a sister of the deceased, said: “Murders, I will see you rot in hell” and his widow, Mary, lamented: “Why did you have to kill him; he never troubled anybody, why?”
The five charged with the February 8 murder of Dianan Jagdeo are Mark Doman, 22, a businessman of Nigg Village; Abdul Azimulla, 34, a cattle farmer of Hampshire,Corentyne; Abdul Zaheer, 28, a cane harvester of Adelphi Village, East Canje; Shannon Batson, 24, who claims to be a livestock farmer of Hampshire/Topu and Satesh Budram, 19, a painter of Hampshire.
Three of the four accused were represented by Attorneys Rohan Jagmohan, Kim Kyte-John and Marceline Bacchus. Through their legal representatives, the accused told the court that they were beaten by the Police.
Doman claimed that he was beaten at the Whim Police Station and was also taken to GuySuCo Road in Albion where he was again beaten.
Azimulla told the court that he was beaten by the Police at the Albion and Whim Police Stations, while Zaheer said the Police picked him up and took him to Tain Dam where he was beaten. He said as a result of the beating he suffered a fractured left rib and was not taken to receive medical attention as he requested.
Batson, who was unrepresented by legal counsel, claimed that he was picked up and taken to the Rose Hall Police Outpost, where he received a beating causing him to sustain injuries to the face and fractured ribs. As the prisoner stood in the dock, there was a laceration visible on his chin. He claimed the Police also put a gun to his ear and fired off three shots. As a result of the gunshots, Batson told the court there was a mark on the side of his head.
Attorney Jagmohan, who represented Budram, said that the defendant was also beaten by the Police when he was taken to Albion.
Magistrate Artiga said she was going to endorse the warrants so that prison authorities would ensure that all of them received medical attention. They will have to return to court on March 6.
Meanwhile, Jagdeo was laid to rest on Wednesday at Rose Hall Town.
On Tuesday evening, scores of persons participated in a motorcade and candlelight march against crime in Berbice. It was attended by many persons who were victims of brutal attacks by bandits, especially along the Corentyne.
Speaking at the commencement of the programme at Adventure, Regional Chairman David Armogan said it was a march in protest against gun-related crimes. He called on all to take back their communities. “No more can we allow bandits to come into our communities and do what they want, we have to take back our communities,” he said.
Also addressing the gathering was Jagdeo’s widow, Mary. Following the speeches, there was a motorcade to Rose Hall Town and then a candlelight parade to Williamsburg.
Jagdeo, 36, of Lot 12 Section G, Kings Street, Williamsburg, Corentyne was killed when a lone gunman walked into a creole restaurant at Adventure and shot him in the process of robbing him of an undisclosed sum of cash and a quantity of phone cards. Jagdeo was the main phone card distributor in East Berbice.
As a result, Top Up and C Point retailers and many phone card retailers along the Corentyne, East Canje, East Bank Berbice and New Amsterdam have been unable to supply their customers with cellphone credit.
Jagdeo leaves to mourn a wife and four children.
