Residents who took part in a protest at Letter Kenny Village on Sunday night could face charges for their participation in the night’s dramatic events, including the torching of a car.
The protest was sparked by the killing of Reena Singh, 18, of Letter Kenny Village by a speeding car and saw the residents of the Corentyne village lighting the vehicle on fire shortly after the accident.
According to senior police sources, they have launched a separate investigation into the torching of the car by residents and, once they have gathered enough evidence, persons could be charged and placed before the courts.
Stabroek News was told that the residents became angry after it was rumoured that the car was owned by a policeman. Due to the belief that corruption is rife in the police force, the residents decided to take matters into their own hands and pushed the car into a canal before pulling it out and dragging it across the road.
They subsequently set it afire on an open land that once housed the village market. They rumour was later proven to be false.
The scene on Sunday night was very hostile and saw residents ignoring the instructions given by police officers. A police source told this newspaper that the police officers who were present at the time were untrained to handle such a crowd.
The source further said that the reaction of the villagers came as a surprise and even though they tried to put measures in place to prevent the vehicle’s torching, residents refused to comply due to their anger and frustration.
“The police officers who were present tried to calm the residents and bar them from taking [matters] into their own hands and other respected persons in the society also tried to stop them but they did not listen, which resulted in the escalation of the protest,” the source added. However, the police force is trying to keep a balance between the investigations of the accident and the torching of the car.
Meanwhile, the driver of the vehicle, PMM 3080, remains in police custody and is assisting with investigations. Charges are likely to be laid before the week is out.
Investigators are also probing the discovery of a toy gun and three fake national identification cards in the car following the accident. The toy gun was reportedly broken by a resident.
Stabroek News was able to confirm that the Toyota car was not owned by any policeman but rather by a Rose Hall civilian. However, the driver of the car on Sunday night was not the owner of the vehicle.
The driver of the vehicle was reportedly on his way to drop it off to a customer who had hired it.
Meanwhile, there was no protest action yesterday by the residents and it seemed that peace and calm had returned to the Letter Kenny community.
At Singh’s home yesterday, many persons gathered and offered their condolences and support to her family. Among the visitors were Member of Parliament Zulfikar Mustapha along with Region 6’s Chairman David Armogan. Other visitors included ‘B’ Division Traffic Chief Boodnarine Persaud and Assistant Commander Marlon Chapman.
Armogan told Stabroek News that the region would be assisting the family in whatever it way it could and also expressed regret at Sunday’s events.
He, along with Persaud, further advised drivers to be more careful on the roadways.
The driver of the car hit Singh as she was attempting to cross the road after disembarking from a minibus. She was subsequently rushed to the Port Mourant Hospital, where she later succumbed to her injuries.
Stabroek News understands that Singh was returning home from her aunt’s Number 55 village home.
Her aunt stated that the teenager had not been ready to leave but had been urged to do so due to the difficulty in accessing transportation on Sundays. The girl was described as a quiet and helpful individual in the community.
