The relatives of Ramesh Sawh, who was found hanging in the Enmore Police Station lockups in January last, have sued the Commissioner of Police Henry Greene and Attorney General Charles Ramson for in excess of $10 million as compensation for the man’s death.
This comes just over a month after a jury found the Guyana Police Force culpable in the death of Sawh.
The writ was recently filed on behalf of Tejram Sawh, the young man’s father, by Attorneys-at-law Anil Nandlall, Euclin Gomes and Manoj Narayan.
According to the endorsement of claim, Tejram is seeking damages in excess of $10 million for personal injuries and the death of Sawh, who was “unlawfully beaten, tortured and strangled by members of the Guyana Police Force”.
He is also looking for special damages of $200,000 from Greene and Ramson along with any further relief the court deems just.
According to the statement of claim, Ramson is being sued in his capacity as the legal representative of the Commissioner of Police. It added that as a result of his son’s death, Tejram suffered injury, loss and damage.
Ramesh Sawh was found hanging by his jersey in a cell at the Enmore lock-ups on January 17, 2008. He was alone in the cell at the time.
One policeman was transferred from the station shortly after; even though the police denied that they were responsible for the death.
Sawh was placed in custody at the outpost after a resident made an allegation that he had stolen a car battery. His relatives later said that it was unimaginable that he would kill himself over a simple larceny report.
They said he had left his Logwood home, to seek employment at the Enmore Sugar Estate.
They had also stated that the young man had never displayed any suicidal tendencies and called for a full investigation into the matter since they suspected that foul play was involved.
Police said in a press release hours after Sawh died that they were investigating the circumstances surrounding his death. The release said Sawh was arrested following a larceny report and was 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.
In a subsequent release, the force denied the family’s claim that Sawh died from a beating while in custody. A release said that an investigation found no evidence to substantiate the family’s claim and this was supported by the post-mortem examination, conducted by Dr Nehaul Singh. The cause of death was given as asphyxiation due to compression of the neck due to hanging.
Nandlall, who was watching over the family’s interest in the matter, had written to Greene and Director of Public Prosecutions Shalimar Ali-Hack.
Chairman of the Police Complaints Authority, Cecil Kennard, had also reviewed the case and he had recommended that an inquest into the death be held.
Chief Justice (Ag) Ian Chang had ordered the inquest last July, following a High Court application by Nandlall on behalf of the family, requesting that an inquest be held into the circumstances under which Sawh met his death.
The corner’s inquest subsequently commenced before Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus and it ended on August 3 when a jury concluded that the police officer’s conduct resulted in Sawh’s death. The file had been forwarded to the chambers of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for advice but Stabroek News was unable to obtain any information yesterday on the status of the matter.
The jury had found that Sawh was not informed of his rights [on detention] based on regulations, and that regular checks which were expected to be done every half hour were not carried out. It was revealed that from the time Sawh was put into the cell up until the discovery of his body, two hours had elapsed without checks.
