Jagdeo blasts “doctored” Police report in Berbice LGE fraud case

…questions GPF’s failure to question perpetrators

Opposition Leader Bharrat Jagdeo has been left pondering over the Police’s definition of forgery after Justice Navindra Singh dismissed the People’s Progressive Party/Civic’s (PPP/C) legal challenge to remove some 50 names from an Alliance For Change (AFC) list of backers for the November 12 Local Government Elections.
Justice Singh ruled earlier this week that there was no evidence of fraud, trickery or threat and noted that there was no basis to ask the Chief Elections Officer to strike out the names of the nominators from the AFC’s Lists of Candidates. Jagdeo, however, feels the case could have been dismissed due to the Police’s report in the matter being “heavily doctored”.
He said the new life the AFC was given with the recent ruling will be ‘short lived’ as he stressed that his party will be seeking legal advice on the report as he indicated that the case could be challenged all the way to the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ).
“We are fighting for the rights of all Guyanese; this is a test case to us. Whether it is concluded before the elections or not, it is not important for us but we have to get a ruling on this matter all the way maybe to the CCJ,” Jagdeo revealed.
He also questioned why the Police did not interview the alleged perpetrators though they were seen on television denying the alleged forgery. Jagdeo, reading from Police report on Thursday, said one of Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo’s family members tricked Hemraj Mohadeo, Anita Mohadeo and Parvattie Thomas into backing the AFC.
“Now the report is heavily doctored… a Ryan Mohadeo says that Abraham Nagamootoo went to his home with papers in his hands and told him that he wanted to become the Chairman for Bloomfield/Whim Villages and that he needed persons to support him.
Mahadeo asked him if it had anything to do with the upcoming elections and he said no… this is in the Police report. Nagamootoo then told him to sign it which he did and Mohadeo took the paper to his family members and they signed also… so the Police’s conclusion is that at no time was he or his family forced to sign the document,” Jagdeo read from the Police report.
Questioning the dismissal of the case, the Opposition Leader queried whether there is a new parameter for forgery: “So now trickery, forgery, misleading people and deception is not really deception unless you hold the person’s hand and force him to sign the paper… Nagamootoo through trickery said that the document had nothing to do with elections and got Ryan Mohadeo to sign the document… that’s a new parameter for forgery, if you do not hold the persons hand and force him to sign the document then you cannot be committed or charged for forgery any longer,” Jagdeo said.
He later observed that there was another case of deception recorded in the report where AFC supporters allegedly tricked a number of persons into signing theirs list, claiming to be conducting the Guyana Elections Commission’s (GECOM) registration.
“…[Abraham] Nagamootoo went and met with them and told them that he was doing registration for the upcoming elections and that he required their ID cards and they have to sign which they all did… here in the report Nagamootoo told them that he was doing registration on behalf of GECOM, is this not trickery?” Jadgeo questioned.
According to Jagdeo, the report is replete with examples of deceit, trickery and fraudulent behaviour on the part of AFC members in procuring signatures. He further questioned why the Police report was not sent to the Department of Public Prosecution (DPP) for advice but went instead directly to Justice Singh.
Shafraz Beekham, of Letter Kenny Village, Corentyne, and 49 other persons from the Bloomfield/Whim, Corentyne area, filed affidavits saying that they were misled into believing that they were supporting a party of their choice when in reality, they actually were “misled” into signing AFC’s nominator lists.
The PPP’s legal suit was filed on behalf of Beekham.