Woman Police Constable Shawnette Bollers has filed a $150,000,000 suit against attorney Nirvan Singh, whom she has accused of assaulting and hurling racist insults at her.
Last week the allegations surfaced on social media about the alleged assault on the policewoman while she performed guard-duties at the residence of Singh’s father—retired Chancellor—Justice Carl Singh. Nirvan Singh has not responded to the allegations.
Bollers (the Claimant), deposes in her statement of claim that while on duty at Justice Singh’s Middle and Cummings Street, Georgetown residence on the night of March 20th, his son (the Defendant), approached and chased her off the property.
She said that the incident occurred at approximately 10:13 that night and she was forced to immediately abandon her post and duties, having to walk for a couple of miles to another location “in the dark of night alone.”
She said that Singh in a “loud and aggressive” manner berated her for about quarter of an hour, then began using a series of defamatory words and racist expressions.
Through her attorney Eusi Anderson, she alleges that the defamatory words and descriptions used by the defendant against her are “untrue, malicious and uttered in undiluted falsehood.”
Bollers deposed in her claim that her reputation has been “seriously injured” by the things she said Singh used to describe her, which she said have also subjected her to ridicule and lowered her in the estimation of right-thinking persons in society.
In support of her claim for exemplary and aggravated damages, Bollers said she relies on the fact that despite her lawyer having written the defendant demanding an apology and retraction, neither has happened.
She said that her claim rests on the fact that the alleged slander occurred while she was fully clad in uniform and on duty; while adding that the younger Singh had no authority to demand that she left the premises, as she was not rostered to guard him, but rather his father.
Bollers said that the man failed to follow protocol for the reporting and removal of a rank from the location.
Because of the alleged slander, Bollers said she is currently in receipt of counselling and therapy to help restore her “normal sleep and eating patterns ravaged by the slander and attendant events.”
She noted, too, that as of the filing of her claim on Monday, she has not been contacted by any of the local authorities, including the Guyana Police Force (GPF); to participate in any investigation or confrontation with the Defendant, notwithstanding her filing of an official complaint and statement.
To the $150,000,000 in damages being sought, the Claimant is also seeking interest, costs and any further order the Court deems just to grant.
Speaking to this newspaper over the weekend, Anderson had said that he had gotten no response from Singh. “Mr Singh has not yet responded to my letter but I am eager to hear from him and I have been actively engaging emissaries on his behalf,” he told this newspaper on Saturday.
Yesterday he said there had still been no response from either the police or Singh.
The opposition People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR) on Friday called on the leadership of the GPF to ensure the matter was not “swept under the carpet,” while also urging that the policewoman receives all the support she needs to overcome emotional distress.
In its statement, the PNCR called on the Women and Gender Equality Commission and the Ethnic Relations Commission to investigate the incident.
It also called on the Guyana Bar Association to publicly condemn the conduct of the attorney and to impose appropriate sanctions. The party, which said it will be closely monitoring the situation, added that it also expects all of civil society to add its voice in condemnation.
