The police’s silence on investigations into Saturday’s acid attack in Station Street, Kitty has left a frustrated Mala Persaud mulling her next move even as one of the suspects in the matter continues to play loud music into the wee hours.
Persaud who sustained burns to her face, hands, shoulder, back and legs is still in pain. The woman told Stabroek News yesterday that she is yet to be visited by the police.
Several attempts by this newspaper to ascertain from the police public relation office the status of the investigations have proved futile.
The woman said that she hardly slept on Tuesday night as the music was blasting until 3 the next morning. Since the attack occurred this is the first time that the music was played so late.
“I want to know why the police ain’t looking into this matter and taking serious action against this woman”, she said, while stressing that she could have been a dead woman. “Why they are not pulling her into custody and questioning her?” she said.
The woman and her relatives told this newspaper that the police are not taking the matter seriously because the suspect is involved in a relationship with a former senior cop. Persaud said that it appears to her that every time she complains, the woman does something. She said that they had gone to see the commissioner of police and the next day a metal object was thrown at the slider door on the veranda and the glass was shattered.
She said that two Mondays ago she complained to the media about the noise emanating from the bar and by the end of the week she was doused with acid.
In addition to the numerous complaints that Persaud and her family have made to the police, the issue had been raised with the Police Complaints Authority (PCA) just two weeks ago. A letter was written to PCA Chairman Cecil Kennard by attorney at law Moses Nagamootoo in connection with Persaud’s husband who had been blacklisted by the US. The continuous complaints about the noise nuisance connected to the former senior cop are said be one of the reasons this occurred.
The letter which is dated May 20, 2013 states that on April 8, 2008 CID ranks detained Doodnauth Persaud and searched his home on suspicion that he was “doing back tracking and money laundering”. He was detained for three days and later placed on $10, 000 station bail, the letter said, adding that police seized and kept Persaud’s passport for one month.
Doodnauth later travelled to the USA in 2001 and 2002 on a valid non- resident visa which has since expired. The letter said that during June 2012 he applied for a new USA visa but was turned down.
According to the letter, the man was informed that he was blacklisted on account of being investigated for money laundering and backtracking. “Mr. Persaud has denied those allegations and he is of the view that his wrongful detention by the Guyana Police Force could have triggered the denial of the America visa”.
The attorney said that the Persauds say that they live near a former senior police officer with whom they have issues resulting from noise nuisance from the officer’s business. The letter stated that they have complained repeatedly to the police about this. “This could have resulted in bad blood resulting in police harassment and the red flag against his name”, the letter said while calling for an investigation into the serious matter which has not only damaged his character but has also interfered with his constitutional right to travel.
Persaud had recounted to this newspaper that on Saturday she was taking the family’s car out of the yard when a man with an umbrella and a tea cup in his hand arrived and called for cigarettes.
She responded that she did not sell cigarettes loose. The man according to her then said ‘watch this thing’ before throwing the contents of the cup at her. The liquid burnt her face, shoulder, back, leg and chest.
The man then ran towards Vlissengen Road where the yellow taxi he had arrived in was waiting. The woman had said that the attacker strongly resembled a man she had seen the previous night with the owner of the bar.
