Father and son—Sukhdeo and Ishwar Dharamdat are likely to the know their fate later today after a jury deliberates on the case leveled against them for the 2015 murder of their neighbour, Suresh Nandkishore.
Following the conclusion of testimony from 13 witnesses over two days, the prosecution yesterday closed its case against the jointly-charged duo who they contend killed Nandkishore during an attack in which father and brother of the deceased were also injured.
The motive of the onslaught Prosecutor Tuanna Hardy said, was fueled by a dispute over land which was awarded by the court to the Nandkishores.
Opting to lead his defence in sworn testimony from the witness box, Sukhdeo sought to advance that on the day in question it was he and his sons who were attacked by Suresh, his father and brother.
His argument is that when he retaliated, hitting Suresh with a piece of wood, he was doing so in self-defence.
Meanwhile, Sukhdeo’s son Ishwar who led his defence in unsworn testimony from the prisoner’s docks, told the court that he was not present when the fracas between his father and the Nandkishore men started.
His story is that he only arrived on the scene after the ordeal had already ended.
The summation of the case to the jury will commence at 10 this morning before Justice Navindra Singh who will thereafter hand the matter over to the panel for deliberation and the possible return of a verdict.
The Dharamdats have pleaded not guilty to the capital indictment which stated that they murdered Suresh Nandkishore on February 3rd, 2015 at Handsome Tree, Mahaica, East Coast Demerara.
One of Dharamdat’s other sons—Chaitram Dharamdat, had also been arrested for the murder. He was, however, among the more than a dozen prisoners who perished in the 2017 fire set by another inmate at the Camp Street Prison.
Testifying on Tuesday was brother of the deceased, Parmanand Nandkishore, who recalled accompanying his father Gopaul Nandkishore and brother on the day in question to their Handsome Tree land where they had gone to repair a fence.
According to Nandkishore, the Dharamdats had become enraged after the portion of disputed land was awarded to his father following a lengthy court trial.
He said that while preparing to construct the fence that day, they were attacked by Sukhdeo and his sons.
