Ramjattan meets Corentyne residents, promises further investigations

Corentyne carpenter’s murder

The two Police officers currently under close arrest for corrupt practices in the Corentyne carpenter’s murder could be criminally charged.
This is according to Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan, who made this pronouncement on Saturday when he met with residents of Upper Corentyne at the home of the slain Corentyne carpenter, Faiyaz Narinedatt.
Narinedatt’s body was discovered on November 1 along the Corentyne Highway at Number 70 Village, Berbice, at a scene set to be that of a hit-and-run accident.

Meanwhile, the deceased’s uncle is now alleging that he was offered $50 million by the alleged mastermind for the family not to press the Police to conduct an investigation.
“$50 million gonna bring back my nephew life? No way! We aren’t accepting it cause we want justice and we want a neutral prosecutor and magistrate to deal with this matter until it end and it reach to the judge court,” he told the minister at the meeting.
A constable and a corporal were arrested last week after six men were charged for the murder of Narinedatt, aged 27.
While speaking to the media following the meeting, the Public Security Minister related that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) could advise that the two officers face criminal charges.
Some residents of Number 70 Village who have been pushing for the Police to dig deeper, were forced to contact the minister following the perceived reluctance of investigators in Berbice to pursue the matter as a homicide.
A few hours after the body was discovered, it is alleged that the mastermind, Marcus Bisram, had gone to the Springlands Police Station and allegedly offered to pay the two officers.
However, Minister Ramjattan has assured that the investigations will not stop at the two officers.
The minister revealed to this publication that other officers are also being investigated in connection with the same matter.

Thorough investigation
“The whole Police Station, an institution must not fall apart like that; you can have your one and two cops and so doing their mischief, but not the whole thing collapsing and then you have to bring in another institution, the Major Crime Unit (MCU), to clean up, then that Police Station is rotten, so the whole set of cops must be investigated,” he asserted. “I have asked that there be a complete investigation of that Police Station because we have had other sets of allegations emanating from that Police Station in relation to some people we had to send across to Suriname… we have to transform that Police Station.”
Meanwhile, Ramjattan said he was unaware of the $2.5 million which the Marcus Bisram Foundation donated to the Community Policing Group (CPG) and which was collected by a Community Policing liaison officer, who claimed that the Public Security Ministry had authorised it.
He explained: “It could have been honestly collected because CPGs around the country sometimes ask businessmen for fuel and other things to ensure that they do their jobs; but they must never lose their professionalism because somebody give them $2.5 million.”
The minister further added that when one of the CPG groups is collecting that quantity of funding they should report it to his ministry.
“I never gave her that kind of authorisation; not that kind of money, because when them money big like that, I want to know if is some dope man give them…” he said.
Addressing residents’ concerns that the CPG official had allegedly threatened some members of Narinedatt’s family, the minister said that the matter is being investigated and urged those who were threatened to come forward and give statements.
According to Ramjattan, the MCU will be in Berbice this week to continue their investigations into the allegations of threats.