Eight young men had the scare of their lives and three including a 16-year-old boy suffered severe injuries after a gang of men viciously attacked them with cutlasses, steel rods and other implements at Greenfield, East Coast Demerara (ECD) on Saturday night.
It is not the first time the gang has been involved in such attacks and residents called for the police to take action saying that the two ringleaders, who are brothers, have been involved in similar incidents before but were not charged. They said that one incident saw the two brothers being held for several days after they beat a man and fractured his skull but they were eventually released without charge.
Late yesterday, the police held one of the suspects and he was positively identified by his victims.
In Saturday’s incident, Charles Crawford, 16, was severely beaten and sustained several chops to the head. He was also stabbed with an ice pick and beaten about the body with steel rods. “He back and so get broadside with cutlass,” his grandmother Agatha Headley told Stabroek News.
Arif Samad, 18, of Dochfour, ECD, cannot walk after being badly beaten about his feet and legs with steel rods. He also sustained cuts to his nose, back and was beaten about the body. ‘His whole body get blows,” his mother, Dhanwanti Kallicharran said.
Jerren Dyal of Mahaicony was stabbed with an ice pick to his ribs and shoulder. “They hold he and bore he up,” one of his friends related. Alex Inderaj, 20, was lashed to his head and hands with steel rods before he escaped into the mangroves over the Ann’s Grove seawall.
Dahendra Balkaran said that he, his brother Ramnarine Balkaran and six friends including Crawford, Samad, Inderaj and Dyal as well as Nandram Kanhai, 15, and Ramdeo Singh, 23, were leaving a club at Beehive sometime between 10pm and 10:30pm on Saturday when Samad who was riding a BMX bike fell as he attempted to negotiate a hump on a bridge.
Samad said that one of the brothers was standing there and despite the bike not touching him asked Samad if he wanted to fight. “I seh ‘no, I just fall’ and he ask if I want he shoot me up,” Samad recounted. He said that they began arguing but then Dahendra walked up and sorted it out. Dahendra said that they walked away and he even pounded the man on the fist in a sign that everything was ok.
Two cars
He said that they continued to walk and when they had almost reached another club called Ballo’s which is located at Greenfield, two cars with four men in each pulled up and one pointed out the group. Dahendra said that the men were armed with cutlasses, steel rods, ‘jukkers’ and one had a chopper. He said that after the men began attacking them, they scattered.
“Dem a get two cars dem a track them boys with,” Kallicharran said. The club they were heading towards is close to the seawall and Ramnarine said that he and Inderaj ran into the mangroves. “I run in the bush and paddle through the mud,” he said. He said that they hid there as the men had followed them with the cars and one stopped at the head of the street at the main road to block it while the other pursued them along the seawall road. He said that he was lashed to his hand with a steel rod before he escaped. Inderaj had also been lashed to the head and hand with the steel rod before he escaped. Kanhai also hid in the mangroves and escaped injury.
After they got away, the men continued looking for the others and caught Crawford close to the seawall after he fell while attempting to escape. He was beaten and chopped and eventually rescued by a resident who gave him a change of clothes and bandaged his head.
They also caught Samad at the seawall. “Dem start lashing me up with a steel rod and cutlass,” he related. His jersey was torn at the neck and cut up. He said that one of the men put a cutlass to his neck and threatened to chop off his head. He said that among those who were attacking him was a former classmate and he attempted to speak with him but he was ignored and the only response he got was that he was among those that they were looking for. After beating him, they eventually left him.
Ramnarine said that he eventually found Samad but he could not walk and he had to fetch him.
Phones
Dahendra said that the men who attacked them took four phones including two Blackberries, an Iphone and a Samsung phone in addition to three bicycles which were spotted in the brothers’ yard yesterday.
Dahendra escaped and was not injured and said that he contacted his relatives and they began a search for his brother and their friends. He said that while searching, he saw the brothers and their friends with cutlasses still looking for them, coming out of a street. He said that he was with another brother and his mother, and at the same time, a taxi stopped and the driver asked if they wanted to go somewhere and they jumped inside to escape from the roving gang.
At another point while still searching, the gang threatened to shoot them, he said.
Dahendra said that he had called 911 about 20 times and the woman who answered at first thought he was playing a prank and hung up and after he called back, the phone was answered but the person who answered did not say a word. He said that when a police patrol eventually turned up, they just stopped at the club and spoke to the people there about the incident and did not do anything else.
As the friends turned up, one by one, they reported the matter to the police outpost at Clonbrook. Kallicharran said that although the matter had been reported nothing had happened up to yesterday afternoon. The victims were due to give statements yesterday but when they turned up, they were told to return today. In addition, they were also contacted to identify one of the suspects who is currently in custody at the Cove and John police station.
A number of residents turned up at the Dochfour home yesterday and expressed anger at the incident. “This thing need to stop cause it aint right,” said one relative. Residents said that this was not the first time this has happened and it was “regular” for the brothers and their friends to attack persons and take away items such as cellphones. Further, they said that although several incidents were reported to the police, the brothers always got off and they alleged that the police were paid off.
Relatives said that the cars used in Saturday’s attack belong to the father of the two brothers. “Is not the first time, they doing this and getting off,” one resident commented. “You got police but what sense it got there. They aint doing their job.”
One resident related that last April, the brothers had beaten a woman’s husband and fractured his skull but they were not charged.
In addition, several days ago, residents said, the brothers had a confrontation with another resident and kicked down the door to the home of that person. “The money what they got and the backings dem got, mek them could do these things,” one relative commented. He said that the police need to take action. “They always doing people thing and getting off,” he said.
