Latest update March 29th, 2024 12:59 AM
Jun 19, 2013 News
A Kaneville teenager’s family has filed a police report accusing members of a government stray-catching unit of beating him during an exercise on Monday. The 14-year-old has since claimed that doctors were forced to extract one of his toenails as a result of the alleged assault.
However, the stray catchers denied that there was any beating. In fact, they claim to have begged a police rank, who had accompanied them to let the lad loose, after he had come at them with a piece of wood and had to be restrained.
Ovid Glasgow, head of the stray catchers’ program, which falls under the Ministry of Home Affairs, said that he is now probing the matter, but initial indications are that the teen may not have been telling the truth.
According to the boy’s father, Bissoon Tulsie, his family has been in the cattle business for years now, operating out of Kaneville, an area east of Grove, East Bank Demerara. On Monday, as is customary, the family let their cows loose early in the morning aback of Diamond, a neighbouring village.
The teen said that at around 10:00hrs he was returning home with 14 cows along the Diamond Access Road. He said while he was nearing the ‘Fourth Bridge’ area, a stray catching truck pulled up alongside him. He claimed there were about eight persons in it, including a uniformed police rank.
“They come out and start rounding up de cows and I tell them is my cows and I looking after dem.”
He said that despite this the unit continued rounding up the cows.
“The policeman come and he twist my arm and he carry me to the truck.”
The teen claimed that he started struggling and shouting and one of the stray catchers allegedly used a rope to hit him several times. He said that one of his feet and a toe were injured during the incident. He said his struggles attracted a crowd and he was let go.
The teen was reportedly taken to a doctor where one of his toenails was extracted.
The family said that they had to pay $16,000 to retrieve their two impounded cows from the Grove Police Station.
According to Glasgow yesterday, the stray catchers working the area claimed the teen came after them with a wood and used foul language.
“We even had to ask the policeman to loose him… despite this,” one of the catchers told Kaieteur News.
The family gave a statement at the Brickdam Police Station yesterday.
Glasgow said he will continue to investigate the incident. He explained that the stray catchers are mandated to pick up unattended strays from housing schemes and other areas.
He added that there are reports that a cow involved in a vehicular accident over the weekend may have belonged to the family.
The cattle problem has been a critical one in especially new housing schemes for some time now.
Residents have complained of dangers posed to traffic; of broken water mains and generally continuing damage to property and plants.
However, cattle rearers have been complaining that government has not offered them alternative feeding grounds. Over 600 animals have been impounded for the first quarter by units in the city and Berbice, the Ministry said earlier this year. (Leonard Gildarie)
THIS IDIOT TELLING GUYANA WE HAVE NO SAY IN THE 50% PROFIT SHARING AGREEMENT WE HAVE WITH EXXON.
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