Samples taken in January from the charred remains suspected to be those of taxi driver Bomeshwar Sukhdeo have still not been sent abroad for DNA testing to confirm his identity and relatives believe that this will eventually affect court proceedings.
Despite the fact that the remains were never positively identified as belonging to Sukhdeo, two men – both East Bank Demerara residents – are currently before Magistrate Priya Sewnarine-Beharry charged with the man’s murder. Bharrat Narine, a taxi service owner of 303 Grove Housing Scheme, and Balram Singh, a taxi driver of Agricola, were charged on February 1 after the badly burnt corpse was discovered in Mocha at the end of January.
Stabroek News recently learnt that the samples which were taken from the remains are still in Guyana. When questioned about this issue Crime Chief Seelall Persaud was unable to comment at the time.
However, a senior police source told this newspaper that the samples are indeed still here. He explained that there are samples from other cases which must also be sent abroad for testing.
“These samples aren’t just sent to the lab,” the source said. “Someone must travel with the samples and I guess they are waiting to accumulate a group of samples before they send anything for testing… It would not be economical if someone had to travel abroad every time we needed to get testing done… This is how we are trying to cut costs.”
Meanwhile, Sukhdeo’s father-in-law Bhoop Singh told Stabroek News that he and other relatives have been attending court proceedings faithfully. They were absent from court on February 1 when the men were charged because that was the same day Sukhdeo’s remains were laid to rest.
“I have already lost,” Bhoop Singh told Stabroek News recently, “and what I have lost I cannot get back so all that I can hope to get is justice.”
He further said that his son-in-law’s car is still being held by police and is at the mercy of the elements since it not protected from the sun and rain. Bhoop Singh said that after the car was located at Herstelling, they started it with a spare key so the car has already been identified as having belonged to his son-in-law.
In a letter to the Kaieteur News (published in the April 18, 2010 edition) a concerned relative had said that Sukhdeo’s family awaits “the actions by the Public Prosecution office” in the ongoing court proceedings.
Another relative said that even though they believe that the charred remains belong to Sukhdeo it is still important that his identity be confirmed by DNA testing.
“Based on the circumstances under which he was discovered and given that the general description of the body like the height and body type and so on fit his then we concluded that it was him… but still to prove to the court beyond any doubt that it is indeed his remains we need to have this test done,” the relative stressed.
It is alleged that between January 19 and 27, Singh and Narine murdered the deceased at Mocha, East Bank Demerara. The duo has since appeared at the Providence Magistrate’s Court on March 15, March 25 and April 19. During the last court proceedings the matter was adjourned to June 1.
Attorneys-at-law Nigel Hughes and Jailall Kissoon (Jr) are representing Narine and Balram Singh, respectively. Hughes, when contacted recently, confirmed that the case had indeed been adjourned to next month. When asked for further details on the current status of the case, the attorney said he could not comment at that time.
Following Sukhdeo’s disappearance in January, the prosecutor said in court on February 1, police discovered his missing car in Herstelling, and that Singh was subsequently arrested. It was claimed that Singh later confessed and he implicated the number two accused, Narine. The police case depends on Singh’s alleged confession.
Hours after Sukhdeo’s car was located, police found the burnt corpse suspected to be his. It was following the discovery of the body at Mocha that Singh and Narine were arrested. They were among four persons in police custody assisting with investigations into the suspected murder of Sukhdeo.
