By Ayanna Blair
Two new unlawful wounding charges – one regarding the brutal torture of a teenager – were yesterday read to the two policemen previously charged with battering two prisoners at the Leonora Police Station last month.
A third policeman was also charged with unlawfully wounding the same prisoner, who is now on remand having been charged with murder.
However, when the case came up before Magistrate Priya Beharry yesterday at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court, only one of the policemen, Constable Mohanram Dolai, was present in court and she remanded him to prison.
Magistrate Beharry then ordered that Sergeant Narine Lall and Corporal Oswald Foo, the third policeman charged yesterday, be present at the next court hearing scheduled for November 30.
The joint unlawful wounding charge which Lall and Dolai had been facing previously in relation to remand prisoner Deonarine Rafick, was withdrawn yesterday. Another joint unlawful wounding charge was instituted against the duo along with Foo in this matter.
Dolai and Lall were then jointly charged with torturing the teen.
Dolai, who appeared to be distressed, was informed by the magistrate that he was not required to plead to two indictable unlawful wounding charges; one involving him and Lall and the other involving them and Foo.
According to the charges, on October 28, at the Leonora Police Station, Lall, Dolai and Foo unlawfully and maliciously wounded Deonarine Rafick, with intent to maim, disfigure, disable or cause him grievous bodily harm.
It is also alleged that on the same day and at the same place Lall and Dolai unlawfully and maliciously wounded the 15-year-old boy, with intent to maim, disfigure, disable or cause him grievous bodily harm
The other joint charge remains against Lall and Dolai which alleges that between October 20 and 29 at the Leonora Police Station, they unlawfully and maliciously wounded Nouravie Wilfred.
Lall and Dolai were previously granted bail at the High Court in the sums of $150,000 and $175,000 respectively.
Attorney-at-law Hukumchand, who was also present in court yesterday, applied for bail for both Lall and Dolai in relation to their new charges, stating that the bail that they had paid for the previous charges should be returned to them.
Hukumchand also asked that Lall’s absence be excused since, “Mr Lall had been informed late yesterday [Tuesday] afternoon that he had to appear in court… but he couldn’t be here since he had to report to a certain office.”
Prosecutor Stephen Telford objected to the bail applications on the grounds that Dolai currently has similar matters pending against him and all are of a serious nature.
Telford charged that on October 22 the teen was arrested in relation to a current murder investigation and while in custody he was beaten and burnt around his genital area by Dolai and Lall.
The matter was later reported and the teen was taken to the West Demerara Regional Hospital for treatment for his wounds and afterwards transferred to the Georgetown Public Hospital where he was further treated and subsequently discharged.
The prosecutor said that a medical certificate on the teen’s condition was obtained on October 30. Hukumchand then interjected stating that all of the charges arose out of the same circumstances but they were all “mere allegations”.
He said that the prosecution has not presented the court with any evidence to show that if his client is released there is likelihood he will commit similar offences or that he will flee the jurisdiction in an attempt to avoid prosecution.
However, the magistrate refused bail for Dolai and said she will make a decision on the bail applications for him and Lall at the next hearing into the matter.