Alliance For Change (AFC) executive member Abel Seetaram says he is being targeted by businessman Alvin Chowramootoo, who has accused him of assaulting one of his employees three Sundays ago at a wedding in Berbice.
Stabroek News had reported yesterday that Chowramootoo’s Cotton Tree, West Coast Berbice contractor was allegedly assaulted by Seetaram and a group of men two weeks ago in Fort Wellington, Berbice. Chowramootoo claimed that Seetaram has not responded to police requests to the visit the station for questioning.
Seetaram, however, stated that he was the person who was assaulted on May 31 was not the contractor. He claimed that the employee, Troy Lakeram, tried to knock him down while he was standing on the road.
He stated that he had left his relative’s wedding and was standing behind a car when Lakeram tried to hit him with his vehicle. “I asked him what wrong with him and he said ‘you, long we ah look fa you even before election,’” he said, adding that Lakeram turned to grab something from inside the vehicle but one of his relatives grabbed him and stopped him.
“Next thing I know, someone come out of the vehicle and kick me into a trench and the man jump in behind me and started to punch me,” Seetaram recalled. He stated that he ran to a nearby house to hide.
“The next day I went to the station and made a report,” he said, maintaining that he did not assault Lakeram at any time that day. “I have never had any contact with Lakeram or his boss. I feel like they are targeting me,” he said.
Chowramootoo told Stabroek News that his employee was headed home in his vehicle from a wedding house that Sunday night when the vehicle was stopped by a group of men.
Chowramootoo said Seetaram, a man who had threatened him on several occasions, started to hit the vehicle, demanding that his employee exit. “Lakeram told him if he get a problem with the boss then he should take it up with the boss not him,” Chowramootoo said, while adding that the men continued to strike the outside of the vehicle.
He stated that Lakeram was then attacked by the men and struck on his head and in his stomach several times, and left on the road.
Chowramootoo said the matter was reported to the Fort Wellington Police Station but no one has been arrested. He said the police had made several attempts to have Seetaram report to the station but he never showed.
Stabroek News made further attempts to contact Lakeram yesterday but these were unsuccessful.
General Secretary of the AFC David Patterson told Stabroek News on Friday that he would investigate the allegations.
