Three months after an inquest into the death of 19-year-old Ramesh Sawh was ordered by Chief Justice (ag) Ian Chang it is yet to begin at the Cove and John Magistrate’s Court.
Sawh called `Kenny’ of 75 Logwood, Enmore, East Coast Demerara was found hanging by his jersey in a cell at the Enmore lock-ups on January 17.
The inquest, which is to be heard before Magistrate Shurdel Isaacs, was postponed on three occasions so far with the absence of jurors and witnesses delaying its start.
Yesterday when the matter was once again slated to begin only two jurors turned up. Magistrate Isaacs told the court that she would have to adjourn again since she could not begin with two jurors. She said that her clerk had written the summonses and they were in the hands of the police for delivery to the jurors.
The magistrate said she has spoken to the Chief Magistrate and to the Divisional Commander on the subject of the summonses being sent to jurors and voiced her regret that the matter has not started as yet.
Tears settled in the eyes of Sawh’s mother, Indrouttie when the magistrate addressed the court. Sawh’s sister said that they have been attending court religiously on each occasion only to leave with nothing happening.
On July 21, Justice Chang ordered that the magistrate presiding at the Cove and John Magistrate’s Court hold an inquest into the death of Ramesh Sawh making absolute an order nisi, which had been filed on behalf of Sawh’s relatives by Attorney-at-law Anil Nandlall.
When the case came up in the High Court, Justice Chang had ordered the magistrate or coroner in the area where the death occurred to show cause why an inquest should not be held. No one appeared on behalf of the magistrate nor was an affidavit filed in answer and when the case was called again, Justice Chang made the order absolute, compelling the magistrate at Cove and John to hold an inquest.
Sawh was alone in the cell at the time of his death and was being held at the outpost for alleged theft of a car battery.
His relatives have since said that they suspected foul play since they vehemently denied that he would kill himself over a simple larceny report.
A police release had said that Sawh was arrested following a larceny report and taken to the outpost around 11.40 am. When officers checked on Sawh, who was alone in his cell, he was found hanging by his jersey, which had been stripped to make a rope and tied to the metal ventilation grill in the lock-ups.
Another release said the force denied the family’s claim that he died from a beating while in custody. The release said that an investigation found no evidence to substantiate the family’s claim and the post-mortem examination conducted by Dr Nehaul Singh showed the cause of death as asphyxiation due to compression of the neck due to hanging.
The family does not believe this. Sawh’s father Tejram has repeatedly said that there was no way his son could have killed himself. He had explained that six holes in the roof of the cell — the only place where the makeshift rope could have been hung — were too high to reach without something to boost one’s height; and there was nothing in the cell for anyone to stand on.
The family had also told this newspaper that Sawh had been a target for the police whenever there were petty crimes in the area and they said that whenever he was held, ranks would put a black bag over his head before trying to beat a confession out of him.
Stabroek News also learnt that a policeman who was on duty at the time of the incident was transferred from the station although this was not confirmed by the authorities who had refused to comment on the matter.
In the meantime, the inquest into the death of Donna Herod which is being held at the Vigilance Magistrate Court has been stalled owing to what is described as a “small hiccup.” Nothing substantial has been done in that matter also but it is hoped that it will move forward on November 10. Herod, a mother of nine, was fatally shot on the morning of September 4, 2007.
Herod had just collected her children from a nearby nursery school after learning about a joint services operation in the village. She was fatally hit in the crossfire between the lawmen and the gunmen but fortunately her children were not injured. Her death had sparked outrage in the Buxton community with several organizations and political parties condemning the police operation and calling for an independent investigation to be conducted.
Herod’s inquest is adjourned to November 10 while Sawh’s inquest is adjourned to November 17.
