‘Greeting’ chopping victim laments police inertia in case

Cane cutter Rajendra Persaud has been spending his days at home alone in pain and fear since he was chopped by the enraged cutlass wielding husband of a woman to whom he extended a morning greeting.

The man who allegedly chopped Persaud five times about the body has still not been arrested. Sattie, wife of the injured man, told Stabroek News yesterday that she is concerned about his safety.

“This is just ridiculous you know,” the woman stated, “this man live in the same village with us and we know that he there right in his house and still the police not coming here to do anything about it.”

The wounds sustained by her husband, Sattie explained, had to be stitched by the doctor. The chops to his head, shoulders, and hands required, 8, 6, 7, 4 and 5 stitches respectively. Persaud, she said, is unable to work as a result and is home in much pain.

Last Sunday Persaud went for a walk in his Diamond, East Bank Demerara neighbourhood. As he walked by a yard some distance from his own home he saw a woman in her yard and raised his hand in greeting. A short time later Persaud said he was attacked by the woman’s spouse.

Since then the man has reported the matter to police at the station located in the Diamond New Housing Scheme. Persaud, according to his wife, has given police a statement twice.

On Sunday after he was attacked, the woman related, her husband was taken to the police station where he gave police a statement. Prior to this, a neighbour who assisted the injured man that day, said a rank at that police station had told her that they could send no one to the scene of the incident because there was no vehicle there. The vehicle, the rank had told her, had gone to get gas.

The man, in company of his neighbour, visited the police station on Sunday and gave the first statement to an officer there. However, on Thursday when he returned to the station he was told that the first police officer who took the statement was on duty at another location and would be unavailable to deal with the matter.

Persaud, according to his wife, gave another officer a second statement on the matter. However, the man later told his wife that he does not believe police are taking his matter seriously.

“We’ve been asking them repeatedly to come to the area and look for this man but they are always finding some excuse about why they can’t come,” Sattie said. “Sometimes I feel that if someone doesn’t die then the police don’t take the case seriously.”