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Jun 05, 2014 News
“We need justice! We want Mr. Cornette to tell us how the cutlass and acid meet inside the prison! I want them to know is me child today and it will be somebody’s child tomorrow,” said the mother of Kwame Bhagwandin, 32, one of the prisoners who was attacked in the New Amsterdam fracas.
‘Drugs have been trafficked in prison by officers’; ‘Justice delayed is justice denied’; ‘
No confidence in the prison service’; ‘Victimization from police and prison authorities’; ‘We need justice!’ ‘Could someone say how the acid and cutlass reached in the prison?’ ‘These people in prison are humans!’ ‘Let the public know what is going on in the prison’ stated some of the placards as the mother and other relatives of Kwame Bhagwandin, 32, of Angoy’s Avenue, New Amsterdam mounted a picketing protest outside the New Amsterdam Prisons yesterday.
Bhagwandin was one of three prisoners who were badly beaten on May 23, last during a brawl at the correctional facility. The others were Davendra Harricharran, called ‘Bara’, 27, of Nigg Squatting area, Corentyne, Berbice; Clarence Williams called ‘Wild Hog’, 41, of Angoy’s Avenue; and Adbussulum Azimulla called “Sato” 31 of Lot 183 Hampshire, Corentyne, Berbice. Bhagwandin was wanted by the police for a series of break and enter and robbery offences. He was captured when he turned up at the Sisters Magistrate’s Court for an impending matter. Harricharran and Azimulla have since been discharged and have been returned to the New Amsterdam Prisons, while Williams and Bhagwandin are still in critical conditions at the Georgetown Public Hospital.
Bhagwandin, at the time of the incident, was on remand for two charges of discharging a loaded firearm on February 13, last, at Bath Settlement, West Coast Berbice. He was also wanted for attempted robbery on a businessman and his son. That incident led to a high speed chase over the Berbice River Bridge.
Two men were subsequently captured. They identified Bhagwandin as the mastermind who was also wanted in connection with the break- and- enter that occurred at C and K Pharmacy and drugs store.
Yesterday, his mother, Donna Liddell, was outraged at alleged corrupt practices by prison officers. She has issued a call to Minister of Home Affairs, Mr. Clement Rohee and the Officer-in-Charge of the N/A Prisons for answers.
She chronicled the history behind her son’s arrests and court appearances. She said her son was on nine counts of robbery and break-and-enter. On January 17, police swooped down at his Ithaca, West Bank Berbice home.
“They take him out and locked him up! He go to court two days after and that is when the Magistrate tell he $200,000 bail but I didn’t have it so he ended up in prison.”
She added that he once again appeared in court a few days later, “and the magistrate break down the bail to $70,000. We bailed him and since he came downstairs, Lawrence Thomas made it his duty to come here and hand my son to Officer Braithwaite and one Sergeant Bailey. They arrested my son as soon as he came downstairs and carried him back and locked him up again! They said he had another break-and-enter at Glasgow Village.”
Seventy-two hours later, he once again appeared in court and was granted bail again. On February 18, last, at the Sisters’ Village Magistrate’s Court on that charge, Bhagwandin was represented by Attorney-at-Law Charrandass Persaud.
“Since he come downstairs, they hold he again! They said he is a suspect. I kept asking them why they really tormenting this boy for!”
Liddell claimed that her son was never made to participate in I.D. Parades or was he fingerprinted. “Is just a 72 hours and more charges!”
She added, too, that right afterwards the Prosecutor, Officer Bristol “dealt two cuffs inside my head—trying to cuff my son in his face so I asked her what she doing to the boy and she said he is a [expletive] thief!”
Bhagwandin was once again arrested and placed in the lock- ups, “and they ended up giving him three charges—disorderly behaviour, obstruction of justice and assault…even though she was the one who assaulted we!”
The man was put on $30,000 bail “but every time we turn up at court Bristol ain’t turning up. We keep going, going, going and they said that she is on 100-and-something days leave and we have to wait until September 25 when she comes back.”
“I want the Crime Chief to tell the public that with all these charges he give to Kwame why he denied him a fingerprint, ballistic test or ID Parade. Is this how the system works?!”
The prison attack
Liddell and relatives are also suspicious about the prison attack. “After he was on bail and we can’t afford the bail that was how he left in there [in N/A Prisons].”
On May 23, she added, “We get a call that the prisoners shouting ‘Help! Help! Call the Police!’” The woman said that during the attack, “Nobody blow a whistle! Nobody called for police until about an hour after the incident. Nobody ain’t even fire a shot to scare the choppers—nobody do anything!”
She claimed the family arrived before the police at the scene.
“Some kind of drugs business going on in there [the prison]. It involving the officers!” she cried. She claimed that another prison officer took acid into the prison.
“On the day this incident happen, the warders go and searched all the prisoners’ cells and take away ‘jooka’ and did not even search Randolph ‘Shoulders’ Rodrigues cell that had acids and cutlasses!
“Is he and two others, Ryan Samaroo and Delwyn Cort, do the thing!” Rodrigues is currently in the Georgetown Prisons while Samaroo and Cort have been transferred to Lusignan Prison.
“My son’s two hands are chopped. They are taking too long with the investigation. This ain’t going down the drain! We ain’t hearing nuttin!”
Meanwhile, an investigation is continuing into the fracas. The violence broke out around 18:00 hrs in what apparently was gang warfare.
At yesterday’s protest, Officer-in-Charge of New Amsterdam Prisons,. Linden Cornette appeared on the scene. He directed all questions to the Director of Prisons and Ministry of Home Affairs, adding too that an investigation has been launched into the incident.
Officer Harry, the warder involved in the incident, has since been transferred to Mazaruni Prisons.
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