Three years late cops still investigating ‘switching gold chain’ at Anna Regina Police Station

Mar 16, 2023 News

By Shervin Belgrave

Kaieteur News – A robbery victim is still to receive justice three years after ranks at the Anna Regina Police Station, located on the Essequibo Coast, Region Two were accused of replacing his gold jewellery with fake ones.

Since the accusation was first made in 2019, the Region Two district has changed three police commanders and the victim, Parmesh Ramdahin, is still to receive justice.

The last update on the investigation of the switched gold jewellery was almost one year ago. The then police Commander, Shivpersaud Bacchus had told Kaieteur News that he had inherited the case from the previous commander but would follow up the investigation. He did his best to continue the investigation and in August 2022, he informed Kaieteur News that the matter was sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for legal advice. Not long after Commander Bacchus was transferred to Region Six and a new Commander was sent to the district.

Ramdahin’s gold chains that turned into artificial ones.

It is unclear if the new Commander, Kemraj Shivbarran was briefed on the matter but since then, there has been no further update case. Ramdahin too has been trying to get feedback from investigators on the matter since last year but according to him, they have given him a royal run around leading him to believe that there could be a cover-up in the investigation. Ramdahin said he had gotten so frustrated that he ended up at the police headquarters at Eve Leary, Georgetown, seeking to be appraised about the investigation. Officers there, he claimed, would attend to him but then push him around again and send him back to Anna Regina.

Ramdahin said he even visited “Freedom House” PPP/C’ office on Robb Street and reached out to the president’s office for assistance but was pushed around again. “Me even raised it in a meeting them had at Anna Regina. Dem had a policeman walking around all and dem seh fuh tell he all we concerns we got and me tell he to”, Ramdahin said while relating that it bore no fruit.

Kaieteur News reached out to Commander Shivbarran and was told he was not briefed on the matter. He explained that the case file will now have to be tracked down so he could find out the status of the case, whether the legal advice had returned or if anyone was prosecuted.  Tracking down the file will definitely take a while so Kaieteur News tried other avenues by attempting to find out about the case from officers who were close to the investigation. Those individuals did not divulge any information but advised Kaieteur News that the lead investigating officer is in the district and Ramdahin should meet with him to be appraised on the matter.

Ramdahin is willing but is afraid that he would be pushed around again.

Meanwhile, one of the two ranks who were suspects in switching the Ramdahin’s  gold jewellery  with fake ones has been removed from the Region Two district.  Kaieteur News understands that he is presently assigned in Region One. Ramdahin’s trouble with his gold jewellery began in 2019 when someone entered his home and stole his gold jewellery. The suspect identified as Daniel Singh had carted off three gold chains worth more than $176,000, a gold band valued at $93,800 and two gold rings with a total price tag of $16,100.

A report was lodged and Singh was caught. It was found out that the stolen jewels were pawned for cash at two different pawn shops located in Georgetown. Ramdahin reportedly paid off the pawn shops to retrieve his own gold jewellery that the suspect stole and lodged them as evidence with the Anna Regina Police Station, Essequibo Coast, Region Two. “Me find the pawn shop and pay off the people them for the jewels them and then hand them over to police”, Ramdahin had told Kaieteur News.

Everything reportedly went according to plan. The suspect was charged, placed before the court and later jailed for six months after he was found guilty of stealing Ramdahin’s jewellery. Ramdahin said that when the court case was over, he decided to uplift the lodged gold jewellery from police but when he got there, his ‘three gold chains turned artificial’. “I got back my bands and the rings and the pendant for the chains but the chains were switched”, Ramdahin recalled. Police were forced to launch an investigation into the misplaced gold chains almost three years later, they are still investigating.

• Anna Regina, gold, investigation, Jewellery, police, switched