Guyana’s High Commissioner to India, Charrandass Persaud was recorded on video on August 1st 2021 hurling profanities and sexually abusive language at a woman who had been trying to feed homeless dogs and in its first word on the matter yesterday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the complaint had been investigated by the “relevant authorities” and it considered the matter closed.
The video and a criminal complaint filed against Persaud by the woman, 63, who is an Associate Professor only surfaced yesterday even though the incident occurred on August 1 2021.
Shortly after Stabroek News saw the video, contact was made with Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, Hugh Todd who said the ministry would respond. The statement said: “The matter, brought to the attention of the Ministry of External Affairs of India by High Commissioner Persaud, was fully investigated by the relevant authorities and a formal response to the High Commissioner dated September 3rd, 2022 indicates that ‘allegation of sexual abusive words to complainant has [sic] not been substantiated’”. The ministry said that it “therefore considers the matter closed”. From a document seen by Stabroek News, it doesn’t appear that the Indian investigation took account of the video.
Diplomatic observers say that on first sight of the video, the Guyana Government should have immediately recalled Persaud. It is unclear who in the government knew about the complaint and the video. Both members of the opposition APNU+AFC coalition yesterday urged that Persaud be recalled.
The woman, who signed her name as Sonya Ghosh in the complaint disclosed that she is an Associate Professor in the Department of English, CVS, Delhi University. She said that the incident, in which Persaud is seen dressed in shorts and a jersey, occurred while she was looking for a stray dog to feed it.
In the 32-second video seen by this newspaper, while the woman’s words were mostly inaudible as she was wearing a mask, Persaud can be clearly heard hurling profanities at the woman.
“No, I don’t need a dog in my yard, okay? You want a dog, take it put it between your legs. You probably want the dog to (profanity) you, that’s what you want,” Persaud is heard saying to the woman who was also speaking.
“I don’t care, I don’t care who you are,” he added and later screamed “I don’t know who the hell you are!”
“(Profanity) you!” he further shouted at the woman who continued to speak.
He then turned and walked away but quickly returned talking to a man, who was close to him, and pointing his fingers. He said “Listen to me don’t let any woman come in my yard,”
“Hello you like the camera”, he then said indicating he knew he was being filmed. A man with him however held his hand up as if to tell the person to stop filming and shortly after the video ended.
Feeding dogs
According to Ghosh’s criminal complaint, which was headed ‘Criminal Complaint against Charrandas Persaud, for sexually harassing and outraging & insulting the modesty of the undersigned’, she has been feeding over 250 dogs daily in the area where the incident occurred. She said this was done in keeping with the regulatory guidelines of the country and that the homeless dogs have been sterilized and vaccinated on an annual basis at her expense. It was also done under the guidance of Member of Parliament Maneka Gandhi to whom she also copied her complaint.
On the day of the incident she said she arrived at Persaud’s house to feed a dog but her driver was unable to find it. She enquired from the guard at the house for the dog and he informed that Persaud had instructed his driver to throw out the dog. The woman then requested to be taken to Persaud as she wanted to be informed about the location where the dog was left.
She was escorted to the front of the house she said where she saw two servants behind a door with a glass pane but when she attempted to speak to them they shook their heads in denial. Ghosh said she was then being escorted back to her vehicle when she overheard someone shouting profanities at her.
She said that Persaud then rushed towards her in an intimidating manner without a mask.
“The harasser kept on shouting and abusing the undersigned which was completely unprovoked. The harasser came to the threshold of the premise(s) exit and was accompanied by one of the servants, at this point the undersigned was being confronted by 3 men out of which one was the harasser and the other two being the guard and the servant. At this point the undersigned sensed a hostile situation and tried to recede,” she said in the complaint.
It was at this point her driver started to video the exchange a copy of which she attached to the complaint.
The woman quoted several sections of the Indian Criminal Code one of which is Section 354 which states “Assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty.— Whoever assaults or uses criminal force to any woman, intending to outrage or knowing it to be likely that he will thereby outrage her modesty, 1[shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which shall not be less than one year but which may extend to five years, and shall also be liable to fine].”
‘Vulgarity’
“The sheer vulgarity and obscenity of the words spoken along with the intimidating hand gestures and the body posture of the harasser, as can be seen in the video, is a clear sign of the intent of the harasser to outrage the modesty of the undersigned. Further, the words spoke(n), alone amount to sexual harassment from a bare perusal of the aforementioned provisions of Indian Penal Code, 1860,” Ghosh said in her complaint.
She also pointed out that India and Guyana are parties to the ‘Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, 1963’ (hereinafter referred to as the “Convention”), which is the international convention on consular relations, privileges and immunities.
She added that there is no existing bilateral agreement between the two countries governing consular relations; hence the provisions of the Convention will be applicable in the current context.
“Article 43, Clause 1 of the Convention states that: `Article 43 – Immunity from jurisdiction – 1.Consular officers and consular employees shall not be amenable to the jurisdiction of the judicial or administrative authorities of the receiving State in respect of acts performed in the exercise of consular functions,’ she further stated.
“In view of the above facts and circumstances, you are requested to urgently take cognizance of the present complaint, also register a First Information Report on the basis of the present complaint and thereby initiate criminal proceedings against the harasser,” she concluded.
Persaud was appointed High Commissioner to India shortly after the PPP/C government was sworn in in 2020.
The former APNU+AFC parliamentarian was responsible for the APNU+AFC Government’s collapse after he voted for a PPP/C motion of no-confidence on December 21, 2018.
After the vote he was subjected to attacks on his character by both his former APNU+AFC colleagues and their supporters.
He left for Canada the day after the vote on the motion, which was passed 33 to 32 after he voted with the PPP/C, which was then the opposition. The PPP/C returned to office on August 2, following a five-month impasse over the results of the March 2nd general and regional elections. It was then Persaud, who had said he voted according to his conscience, was appointed High Commissioner to India.
Shadow APNU+AFC Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amanza Walton-Desir yesterday demanded that Persaud be immediately recalled.
“We cannot purport to present ourselves in the community of nations as any country of consequence, with Mr. Persaud being in the ranks of our foreign service.
“The Government of Government must immediately recall Charrandas Persaud to save whatever modicum of respect for our diplomacy and foreign representation which might remain”, she said.
She added that the video ought to fill all Guyanese with outrage and disgust and said that the ministry’s response was worse.
“The process through which the Ministry purports to bring finality to the incident is woefully inadequate, disrespectful, and does not satisfy the most basic standards of accountability to the people of Guyana”, she said.
Meanwhile the Alliance For Change said: “While most of our diplomats serve with distinction, there are a few political appointees who bring nothing but disgrace to our country. Charrandas Persaud should be recalled immediately on grounds of conduct unbecoming of an Ambassador and an apology issued to the Government and people of India”.
