Father, son jailed for 85 years for killing accountant

Fifty-four-year-old Sukhdeo Dharamdat called “Toney” and his 25-year-old son, Eshwardat Dharamdat called “Bruddow” were on Tuesday sentenced to a total of 85 years in prison for the murder of Suresh Nandkishore called “Ravo”, which occurred on February 3, 2015, at Handsome Tree Mahaica, East Coast Demerara.

The father and son were on trial before Justice Navindra Singh at the Demerara High Court. During the trial, the court heard that the duo and the deceased were involved in a confrontation regarding the erection of a fence on a plot of land.
There was a confrontation which led to the two accused attacking the victim, his brother and father. During the attack, Nandkishore received head injuries and later died, while his father was knocked unconscious and his brother received bodily injuries.
The two were initially charged jointly with Chaitram Dharamdat, Sukhdeo Dharamdat’s younger son. However, the younger Dharamdat died during the Camp Street Prison fire in 2017.
In court on Tuesday, Sukhdeo Dharamdat was sentenced to 65 years for the capital offence of murder while his son was sentenced to 20 years for manslaughter, after being previously found guilty of the respective offences by a 12-member jury.

Both accused were represented by Attorneys-at-Law Pamela DaSantos, Brandon DaSantos and Alanna Lall while the State was represented by Prosecutors Tuanna Hardy, Abigail Gibbs and Teriq Mohammed.
Sentencing was set for Tuesday to facilitate a probation report. This report revealed that the older Dharamdat (Sukhdeo) was described by neighbours and relatives as a bully, the report went on to say that the accused was covetous, especially when it comes to land ownership.
Meanwhile, during the sentencing, Justice Singh stated that according to the probation report, the younger Dharamdat (Eshwardat), who expressed remorse for the incident, was not a bad person, rather, it is his father that is of negative influence.
During the sentencing, Justice Singh initially give a 60-year sentence to the father, but added another 10 years for lack of remorse. He also subtracted five years for the probation report. On the other hand, his son was given a 30-year sentence from which a total of 10 years was deducted for expressing remorse and the probation report. The High Court judge also ordered that the time the duo spent on remand awaiting trial be deducted from their sentence.
Reports stated that on the day in question, the deceased, his father, Bhopaul Nandkishore, and brother, Parmanand, were erecting a fence on their plot of land when they were approached by the Dharamdats and a heated argument ensued.
The victims tried to avoid any further exchange of words by walking away but the Dharamdats did not gave up so easily. They reportedly armed themselves with the posts that were being used for the fence and attacked the victims during which the now dead man received lashes to his head, and his brother and father were also beaten with the weapon.
The victim’s brother, Parmanand, managed to escape and seek help for his father and brother. However, the victim was pronounced dead on arrival at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC).