An Edinburg Berbice man has spent four days in hospital after he was allegedly beaten by police ranks.
Gurrudatt Prakash, 26, called Vicky, alleged that he was beaten by police “without reason” and suffered head injuries as a result. He said he was hit on his head repeatedly with batons.
Gurrudatt Prakash
Neither Commissioner of Police Henry Greene nor Berbice Commander George Vyphius could be reached for a comment.
Prakash told Stabroek News Thursday evening that he had showed up at his in-laws’ Canje home on Sunday to visit his child when he was attacked by a rural constable (RC) related to his reputed wife and then later by other ranks from a police van.
Prakash’s allegations come after police allegedly tortured a 15-year-old and two other men while they were in custody. “Saturday night my wife and I had a lil problem and she left with our two-month-old son and said she was going to her parents in Canje,” Prakash explained. “About 1 o’clock Sunday night [1am Monday morning] I called her and ask if I could come over to see her and the baby and she agreed and told me that she would open the door.”
Prakash said that he took a taxi to his in-laws Canje home and stood in front the house calling out to his reputed wife and her parents. Shortly after his arrival, Prakash recalled, the RC entered the yard. “After I see [RC named] come in the yard I ain’t really pay no more attention to him because same time my wife open the door,” Prakash said.
The man said he entered the house and immediately headed to the room where his child was asleep. Prakash said he picked his son up and it was then he became aware that the RC had followed him. The RC, Prakash reported, began hitting him on the head and about the body while he still held the baby in his arms.
A short time later, Prakash said, a van-load of police showed up at the Canje residence and the RC dragged him from the house, down the stairs and into the yard where one of several police men approached him. “Up to now the police ain’t tell me nothing. They ain’t say why they come and I remember is this one police walk up to me with a baton in his hand and start lashing me in my head,” Prakash explained.
The last thing he remembered was being beaten to the head by the police rank. Prakash said that persons who witnessed the beating later told him that he lost consciousness and was thrown into the police van. “When I woke up early the morning I was in the lockups and I find out later that I was at the Reliance Police Station,” Prakash said. “When I wake up I was vomiting and my head did feeling right and I started to call out to the police but they ignored me and only said I had to wait until they were ready to take me to New Amsterdam Police Station.”
Later Monday Prakash said he was taken to the New Amsterdam Police Station and was released shortly after. While he was travelling home with his mother, he recalled, he complained of feeling unwell. It wasn’t until he arrived home that he had a severe pain in the head and lost consciousness.
Prakash’s mother, who was with him, said her son had “a fits-like symptom and just drop down like that.” The woman said he was rushed to the New Amsterdam Hospital (NAH) that day and admitted a patient. Prakash was transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital Monday night where he remained until last evening.
“I took a CT scan but we ain’t get the results back yet,” Prakash reported. “My mother explained to the doctors today [Thursday] that it was hassling for her to travel from Berbice to Georgetown every day and they transfer me back to New Amsterdam Hospital.”
After the beating, Prakash said, he’d sustained a bruise to his arm but the mark has since faded.
The man said that while there are no wounds on his head he is in constant pain. Police, the man further said, still have not told him what offence he committed. Prakash insists that he was treated in a “horrible manner” that was unfair to him and “not in keeping with justice.” “Listen, up to now I can’t tell you is why they beat me like that,” the man said. “Up to now I don’t know what I do…it look like if you cuss up somebody now the police going to come and beat you.”
Since the PPPeee took power in 192…statistics have revealed that crimes of all forms, shape and size have escalated.
The year started with domestic violence then switched to stabbing to death now its’ torture ad rampant police brutality.
I do agree with you on that one SH.I was very surprised to learn that canje poeple were afraid to walk home from New Amsterdam to Cumberland on a Chridtmas-Eve night;something that used to be a custom for the villagers.A lovely walk that many enjoyed after a 4.30 cinema.gone are the good old days!and SO-MUCH FOR GUYANA SECURITY SERVICES
TORTURE by the PPP controlled armed forces is obviously ingrained. This victim should sue the PPP government for damages. Clearly he suffered cerebral trauma from the blows inflicted upon him by the police beating.
SUE? NOTHING COMES OUT OF THESE THINGS, AGAIN I SAY, YOU HAVE NO RIGHTS IN GUYANA, NOT EVEN TO BREATHE.
First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a communist;
Then they came for the socialists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a socialist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak out for me.
Guyanese have to be OUT OF THEIR MINDS,CRAZY,MAD,BACKWARDS,IGNORANT and PSYCOLOCICALLY DISTURBED to vote this dictator back into governance.This MAN must GO!EXIT!TAKE HIS LEAVE!ALLOW HIMSELF TO SLEEP as long long as he likes..BUT NOT ON TAX-PAYERE DOLLARS!
you need help
When will they ever learn.
This sound like Guyana police force style. Eventhough I beleive that this guy is not telling the whole story of what happen between his wife and himself. The issue remains that this is not the way the police force in suppose to function.
who cares what happened between this guy and is wife, it was not a police matter, are you a lawyer, or just like seeing your self write.
Stone- That’s my point exactly.
We have got to find a way of accepting people into the police force who have passed rigorous academic and pyschiatric tests.
There are too many loonies parading in uniform in that place.
THE PAY IS TOO LOW FOR ORDINARY PEOPLE TO LIVE ON…
YOU CANNOT REALLY RECRUIT QUALIFIED PEOPLE AND EXPECT THEM TO LIVE ON 40,000 G DOLS.PER MONTH.
A community back-ground check is one of the very best methods to apply.Its Guyana we are dealing with, where every one knows each other.The most reliable information comes from the area where one lives/grows-up.Citizens should also object in masses if they happen to recognise an officer with criminal back-ground or misconduct.Over here no such persons are allowed to even work with government institutions.(not even the lowest job in the councel)
The police had no right to do that.
You also should not cuss up anybody.
Yu wife gat a little Baby,
Why yu fighting wid de woman.
You’ll all men gat to realise that women has rights too.
Alyu does drink 2 cents rum & play 4 cents drunk.
What takes yu two seconds of fun,
Takes a dam woman 18 years to care for.
Yu’ll like to fight women too much, she has a two month old baby,
Wa yu dont find a man to fight wid.
Yu all young men got to stop this shi-.
Women have rights too.
They are not a punching bag.
Get a life, get real.
Somebody gun buss yu ass.
There is a ting name LOVE. Tenderness. Care. Kind .FATHER.
Get familiar wid these words and yu will be a better man.
Yu get no sympathy here. Sorry de man beat yu up.
Maybe yu look fu it.
From this fella ’s comment alone and reading through the lines tells us that he was drunk, went home and abused his wife, he then slept away and when he woke at 1:am he descovered the woman missing with the baby…he then tracked her down and she called the police for fear of licks,,,He is now claiming that the police beat him non stop in his head with a batton,,,He cannot take one blow to the head with a baton and still be alive, his state of drunkenness he cannot even remember what happened…This is the trend of these people,,,
soldier, you again with this foolishness. the police is know to commit these atrocities against its citizens. one more thing when an man is drunk he can’t walk. he might have been high but not drunk.
Bull, john. I CAN WALK WHEN I AM DRUNK. I SHOULD KN0W. I HAVE HAD PRACTISE SO STOP your FOOLISHNESS.
This story is wanting, i am trying to figure out if this really did happen to this young man.
This is a big NANCY story, he visiting a woman he got problems with at 1.00am Sunday…Hmmmmmm.
“About 1 o’clock Sunday night [1am Monday morning] I called her and ask if I could come over to see her and the baby and she agreed and told me that she would open the door.”
A boy named “Vicky” calling his girlfriend to see his baby at 1 a.m. gets a whipping by the relatives.
SN editor, if the Commissoner of Police office could not be reached for a comment why are you running this one-sided, unverifiable so called story ?
Answer folks: to piggy back on the milking the paper doing with the burn boy and try and increase paper sales with sensationalist repetitive space wasters…
me so happy me so happy i living in the great US OF A
GUYANA IS IN BAD HANDS get it folks get it ehehe
Turbo,
You so glad? Don’t go driving or get pulled over at night in certain parts of the Us of A or you won’t be so glag.
Milking yu seh?
“RC” are not badge police. These are community watchmen that aid in the absence of police, until they arrive. I guess Stabroek forgot to mention that lil bit of info. to readers.
The wife ran away from Starbai Gurrudatt Prakash in fear for herself and her child.
Perhaps we shoud TRY REMEMBER THIS.
Police brutality is on the increase in Guyana.
The recently proposed lessons on the proper use of force by the police had better start quick.
MX-It has already started. Based on the victim’s account, it seems the proper use of force was being followed.
Bhai this is wha we learned in Police training school in the first couple months.If this is no longer taught then we going backwards bad.
Policemen should have to do a mini course in Criminal Justice so they can better dispense justice without abusing the civil rights the citizens.
what lesson? you mean how to tortute without leaving visible marks. anyway he is one lucky dude. he was very lucky they did not have methylated spirits, matches, or a lighter, or 2 bricks that they could knock together to get a spark. then that would have been the end of him.
the boy lived because the police did not go all the way with him, they just roughed him up.
but, he might have been history because those guys are sadists, man.