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Enmore lockups death… Judge orders magistrate to hold inquest

Jul 22, 2008 News

As the court action filed by the lawyer for the relatives of 19-year-old Ramesh Sawh, who died at the Enmore Police Station lockups in January, continued, Chief Justice Ian Chang yesterday directed that the presiding magistrate/coroner at the Cove and John Magistrate’s Court hold an inquest into the cause(s) of, and the circumstances connected with, the death of Sawh, called ‘Kenny.’
Sawh was found hanging in the Enmore lockups in January in an apparent suicide.
His relatives, who thought that the circumstances surrounding his death were suspicious, sought legal intervention, and their attorney, Anil Nandlall, filed an action on behalf of Sawh’s father, Tejram.
On June 18, Justice Chang issued the Order Nisi for the said magistrate/coroner to show cause why he/she should not be compelled to hold an inquest into the cause(s) of and the circumstances connected with the death of 19-year-old Ramesh Sawh, called Kenny.
Yesterday, when the matter was called, no one appeared for the magistrate, neither was any affidavit in response filed.
Nandlall, in an invited comment, said that if the inquest is not commenced shortly, then his clients will be advised to commence contempt of court proceedings.
As the grounds of the application by Tejram Sawh, he said that the Director of Public Prosecutions has exercised her statutory discretion/power conferred upon her by the Coroner’s Act Chapter 4:03 of the Laws of Guyana to require the presiding magistrate/coroner at the Cove & John Magistrate’s Court in which the unnatural death of Ramesh Sawh occurred, to hold an inquest into the cause of, and the circumstances connected with, the death of the said Sawh, and that the said magistrate/coroner has unreasonably refused or neglected to perform, or has abdicated his statutory duty under the said Act to do the same.
In the affidavit in support of the motion, Tejram Sawh, of 75 Logwood, Enmore, East Coast Demerara, contends that on January 17, 2008, his son Ramesh left home in search of a job at Enmore Sugar Estate, but he never returned home. 
The affidavit added that some time between 14:00 hours and 15:00 hours on that day, Tejram was informed by a neighbour that Sawh had died while being held at the Enmore Police Outpost lock-ups.
Subsequently, it stated, Tejram learnt that Ramesh was alleged to have committed suicide by using his T-shirt to hang himself from the ceiling of one of the holding cells at the Enmore Police Outpost lock-ups.    
The affidavit stated that to date, almost five months after Ramesh Sawh’s death, the police have neither formally informed the family as to the details surrounding Sawh’s arrest, detention and death, nor have they issued any official statement in relation to the same.
It added that the patriarch and his family are strongly of the view that the allegation made or explanation offered by the police officers stationed at the Enmore Police Outpost in respect of how the deceased met his death is seriously lacking in credibility, and that very little can be gathered from the surrounding circumstances to support their allegation or explanation.
The affidavit added that this is especially in light of the fact that Ramesh Sawh never exhibited the slightest propensity of being suicidal although he had brushes with the law on previous occasions, which resulted in him being incarcerated in those very lock-ups for protracted periods of time.

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