Prison warder took cutlasses, acid into lockups – injured inmates

May 28, 2014 News

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 “Two weeks before we were attacked, we tell the OC about the acid that the prison warder brought into the prison”  

While the Guyana Police Force (GPF) and Prison authorities have remained tight-lipped on last Friday’s

fracas which left four inmates nursing several chop and burn wounds to their body, the injured men yesterday accused a prison warder of taking the prohibited materials into the prison.
The inmates, who were all placed in one room at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) for the wounds they sustained after five prisoners got into their cell at the New Amsterdam Prison and attacked them with cutlasses and acid, said the assault was well planned.
Those injured were identified as Davendra Harricharran, called ‘Bara’, 27, of Nigg Squatting Area, Corentyne, Berbice; Quammy Bhagwandin, 32, of Angoy’s Avenue, New Amsterdam; Clarence Williams called ‘Wild Hog’, 41, of Angoy’s Avenue, and Adbussulum Azimullah called ‘Sato’, 31, of Hampshire Corentyne, Berbice.
At the GPHC yesterday, relatives of the injured men threw themselves on the hospital’s floor when they were told by prison warders that they were not allowed to meet their loved ones.
These actions and constant screams for justice forced prison personnel to allow relatives to meet with the remand prisoners. Media personnel, however, were not allowed to meet with the prisoners.
The men who were all handcuffed to their beds shouted from their room, “the prison warders know about this. That one (name given) bring in a bucket of acid into the prison and all six cutlasses… I saw him and I reported it,” the man said.
According to Quammy Bhagwandin, two weeks before the incident happened, he met with the officer in charge at the prison and informed him that his life was in danger.
Apart from the oral report, Bhagwandin said he wrote a letter to the head of the prison.
In that letter, he said he wrote about prison warders working together with high profile criminals to make “side cash.” He also claimed that he complained about seeing cutlasses and acid being smuggled into the prison by the authorities.
The men were allegedly attacked by Randolph Rodriques, called ‘Shoulders,’ who is serving a 20-year sentence for murder.
Kaieteur News was informed that the perpetrator wrestled a prison warder and took away the keys after which he armed himself with a cutlass and opened the cell where his victims had been placed , and invited his “crew.”
According to the hospitalised men, Rodriques is the “king” at the prison. “If you have a phone and he wants it, the prison warders will come, search and beat you and then give it to him.”
Bhagwandin and Harricharran said they are scared for their lives and cannot rely on those in charge at the prison for protection.
“All of them (prison warders) are criminals. They selling weed inside the prison and collecting money. They know exactly who has what in there,” the men claimed.
Harricharran’s wife, Patricia, questioned why the authorities held only one person accountable when it was reportedly carried out by five individuals.
“Dem boys say that they had to play dead before their attackers left them. They say when one of them done chopping, another one take his cutlass and was chopping more then they threw acid on them,” Patricia said.
Harricharran is on remand for the $10M armed robbery committed on April 9, last, at Rose Hall Town, on businessman Mangalie Ramlingum .
Investigators had received information that Harricharran was the owner of the getaway motorcycle. He was also a member of the notorious ‘Pop Corn’ gang and was recently freed on a murder charge.

He was charged along with Gansham Jagassar called ‘Suresh’ and Abdulssalam Azimullah for the 2004 murder of Gary Simon which occurred at Nigg Settlement, Corentyne, Berbice.
Azimullah is on remand on the murder charge which occurred since 2004.
He is also charged with two counts of robbery under arms. While in company with others and  armed with an AK 47 rifle on Saturday 2nd June  2012 at Cumberland, East Canje, he robbed  a business of couple millions of dollars in cash and jewellery, including foreign currency.
Azimullah was on the run for more than eight years after the murder. He was subsequently charged with the capital offence and remanded to jail.
Quammy Bhagwandin, was wanted by the police for a series of break and enter and robbery offences and was captured when he turned up at the Sisters Magistrate Court for an impending matter.
Bhagwandin was remanded on two charges of discharging a loaded firearm on February 13, last, at Bath Settlement, West Coast Berbice, and attempted robbery on the businessman and his son. That incident led to a high speed chase over the Berbice River Bridge.
Two men were subsequently captured and identified Bhagwandin as the mastermind. He was also wanted in connection with a break and enter that occurred at C and K Pharmacy and Drug Store. Police had recovered a number of items from a dilapidated house at Angoy’s Avenue which was reported to have been frequented by Bhagwandin.
He was also wanted for break and entry and robbery of the Furniture World business establishment at Main and King Streets, New Amsterdam. He is also still being investigated for a number of other robberies that occurred recently.
Clarence had written to the Chancellor of the Judiciary citing victimisation and undue delay and a number of other issues.
Williams’ matters include sacrilege, robbery, possession of house-breaking implements and break and enter and larceny which were committed in the months of April and May 2009. Williams, who was in custody for the four matters,  is also  charged with  escaping from lawful custody while being a prisoner at the New Amsterdam Prison between June 1st   and 2nd 2009.He had dug himself out of his cell and scaled the fence before making good his escape.
He had fled to neighbouring Suriname where he was recaptured and brought back to Guyana.  While on remand Williams had also assaulted a police officer.

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