A former police officer was yesterday granted bail in the sum of $225,000 after he was read nine charges of defrauding the Guyana Police Force (GPF) of almost half a million dollars in total.
Tamesh Dhanraj, who was represented by attorney Latchmie Rahamat, was brought shackled before Chief Magistrate Ann McLennan, who read the charges to him in a city court.
The first charge alleged that Dhanraj, 35, between September 15th, 2017 and September 29th, 2017, at Anna Regina, with intent to defraud, obtained the sum of $82,560 from the GPF by pretending that he was entitled to travelling allowance in order that he may conduct official duties for the GPF, knowing same to be false. It was also alleged that at various points in 2017, he fraudulently obtained $38,040, $72,080, $87,720, $56,750 and $46,440 through the same means. The remaining charges were for allegedly defrauding the GPF in the same manner in 2018, when it is claimed that he fraudulently obtained $72,240, $5,160 and $15,480. Dhanraj, of Lot 371 Hampton Court, Essequibo, was not required to enter a plea to the charges.
Rahamat told the court that her client resigned from the GPF sometime in September, 2018. She contended that the charges against him were as a result of an audit of the financial section of the Anna Regina Police Station, where he had been in charge. She noted that Dhanraj would have given the police a written statement denying the allegations against him.
As a result, Rahamat urged the court to grant her client reasonable bail since he is not a flight risk and would have retained counsel. Police prosecutor Neville Jeffers, however, told the court a very different story. According to Jeffers, Dhanraj never resigned from the GPF. He said the former lawman was dismissed on January 26th, 2019. He further noted that prior to being dismissed, Dhanraj, during the ongoing investigation, left Guyana and went to the United States, when he should have been reporting to the investigator at Essequibo. It was when the accused returned from the United States, according to Jeffers, that he was arrested and later brought before the court.
The prosecutor also reported that there are investigations pending relating to similar offences, which were also allegedly committed by the accused.
Having heard from both the prosecution and the attorney, the Chief Magistrate granted the accused $25,000 bail on each of the nine charges, for a total of $225,000.
The matter was subsequently adjourned until March 13th, when it is expected to be heard at the Anna Regina Magistrates’ Court.
