The Guyana Police Force yesterday said Sewdat Hansraj, the youth who was fatally shot during last Friday evening’s protest at Cotton Tree, West Coast Berbice, had been attacking its ranks with a cutlass alongside other protestors—an assertion that was rejected by his family and residents of the village, who called for an investigation to be done.
Hansraj, also known as ‘Devon,’ 18, of Lot 37 Cotton Tree Village, West Coast Berbice, was pronounced dead on arrival at the New Amsterdam Public Hospital, where he was rushed after being shot.
In a statement to the press yesterday morning, the force said several ranks were also hospitalised as a result of the attack, which was one of several that erupted from protests against the move to declare results from the voting in Region Four for the general elections. Some lawmen were assaulted with iron bars, pieces of wood and cutlasses.
