Latest update January 20th, 2025 4:00 AM
Coldingen fisherman murder trial gets underway at the High Court
Kaieteur News – Police detective, Chitram Seeram faced a series of questions in relation to murder of Coldingen East Coast Demerara (ECD) fisherman, Mukesh Mangra on Monday after he was called to the witness stand to testify in the murder trial of Roy Jaglall.
Mukesh Mangra
Jaglall is currently facing a murder charge before Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall and a mixed 12-member jury at the High Court. He was charged along with Vivekanand Ram for the murder which occurred at Coldingen, ECD on January 18, 2020.
The body of Mangra called ‘Paul”, 27, of Coldingen Squatting Area, ECD was discovered on the evening of January 18, 2020 lying on the road with multiple stab wounds and lacerations. Police found a blue handle knife about fifty feet from the body. Family members had reported that they believed that Mangra was attacked and killed during a brawl. Ram and Jaglall were subsequently charged with murdering Mangra.
Ram has however pleaded guilty to the offence and is set to be sentenced next month. On Monday, the State called several witnesses including detective Seeram who lead the investigation in the trial. Seeram essentially told court that he had instructed crime scene ranks to inter ali, collect video footage from surveillance cameras nearby businesses during the murder investigation.
According to the policeman, the murder occurred in the vicinity of Chico Ramas gas station and Tasha’s bar on the ECD. He said that as a result, he instructed ranks to secure the video footage as part of their evidence gathering. Under cross examination by attorney, Dominic Bess, the officer related that the video recordings were collected but they were not clear. As such, he said that the recordings were not a crucial part of the evidence.
He said too that the recordings were taken to the Magistrate Court but they were not tendered as evidence. Seeram could not give a reason why the recordings were not tendered.
The detective said too there was video footage taken of a confrontation, he held between the accused and another suspect, Tagepaul Sukdeo but it was also never in court. He revealed further that there were about six video recording that were collected throughout the investigation but it did not make it to Court. In addition, the detective, State Prosecutors Rbina Christmas and Dellon Fraser called seven more witnesses including, Pathologist Dr. Nehaul Singh who gave details of an autopsy he conducted on Mangra’s body. During his testimony, Dr. Singh revealed that the fisherman died of perforation to the liver and lungs.
The pathologist related that the deceased suffered three incised wound two of which were located in the abdomen and would have been likely caused by a sharp pointed object measuring 10cm in length. Meanwhile an eyewitness, Tagepaul Sukdeo related that Jaglall told a group of men that he was hanging out with at Tasha’s bar that a man which he later identified as Mangra had taken away his cutlass and knife and ‘want juke he up.’ As a result of what he told the men, they got into a car and went to confront Mangra. When, the men with whom, Jaglall was with confronted Mangra, he attempted to run away but was caught and dealt stabs about his abdomen with a knife by the accused.
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