The police are in receipt of the report from the Maritime Administration Department (MARAD) that suggests the possible involvement of a Coast Guard vessel in the Essequibo River incident that claimed two lives and left a 10-year-old boy missing.
Salimoon Rahaman, who lost her reputed husband in the August 11 river incident just off Hog Island and who has been searching for her son ever since, met Commander of ‘D’ Division Paulette Morrison yesterday. Rahaman was told that the police would be doing tests to determine the origin of blue paint found on a coastguard vessel. Stabroek News was unable to contact Morrison yesterday but a source confirmed that the MARAD report had been forwarded to the police.
The boat accident in the Essequibo River left Hog Island residents Jainarine Dinanauth and his neighbour Henry Gibson dead and 10-year-old Ricky Jainarine missing. Relatives as well as members of the public had alleged that Coast Guard ranks were involved in the incident, noting that the soldiers’ boat had been dry-docked for three days afterwards. The army has strongly denied the claims.
However, a MARAD preliminary report into the boat mishap has confirmed that the army Coast Guard vessel had blue paint on its hull and has recommended a forensic analysis to determine its origin, a source close to the investigations told this newspaper on Saturday. The shattered boat also had green paint – the shade that is used on Coast Guard vessels. MARAD had examined both vessels and the source, who explained that the report was a very preliminary one, also suggested that a lack of navigation equipment on Dinanauth’s boat contributed to the accident.
Since the accident, relatives had reported seeing green paint on the blue and white boat that the trio was travelling in at the time of the collision, suggesting that it might have collided with a Coast Guard vessel or another green boat. After the collision, there was no sign of the other boat involved in the accident and no report that its operators had contacted the authorities.
Rahaman told Stabroek News that the police contacted her yesterday and asked her to go to the Leonora Police Station, where she met Morrison. She said the MARAD report was raised and the Commander said they are doing some tests to determine from where the paint originated. “They [the police] tell me the matter investigating all the time,” Rahaman said, noting that no other information has been forthcoming.
Following a report in this newspaper on the MARAD’s findings, Rahaman reiterated her call for the matter to be investigated properly. “I think they should investigate the matter properly… we want to know where is Ricky and how his father died and the neighbour also,” she said.
Suspicions increased when days after the Hog Island incident three Coast Guard ranks were apprehended for allegedly robbing then murdering Dweive Kant Ramdass, a Bartica gold dealer.
Initially, there was no indication that the police were investigating any possible connection between the two incidents. Later, in a statement, the force said it was pursuing the “green boat” lead in the crash, resulting in the arrest of a suspect from the West Demerara area. But he was subsequently released after habeas corpus proceedings were filed in the High Court. According to the police, the man was questioned and denied being involved in an accident, stating that the boat he had in his possession on the night in question did not belong to him and had been returned to Venezuela. The police added that the man, while in custody, also claimed that he did not possess a green boat, but reliable sources had informed investigators that the boat the man was using on the day in question was green.
