Commander in Chief of the armed forces and newly appointed President David Granger yesterday said that contrary to some predictions, the appointment of Commissioner of Police Seelall Persaud will not be revoked him.
Instead, he said, he is concerned about Persaud’s appointment of two police officers who had tortured a 15-year-old teen boy back in 2009.
“I have no intention of asking Mr Persaud to demit office. What I am concerned about is the status of two persons against whom serious allegations were made in force,” Granger said in response to questions asked by this newspaper of Persaud’s appointment.
Granger had condemned the promotions of the two policemen and had vowed that once his coalition takes office, after the upcoming elections, steps will be taken to correct the situation.
“In future there will be action…We expect that after May 11… we will be in a position to correct this error,” Granger had told reporters at one of his weekly press conferences.
“The crime of torture is a crime against humanity and I will not be in any position of authority that will tolerate the crime of torture. As far as I am concerned, the crime of torture has been committed. The evidence is there and this matter needs to be pursued to finality,” he later added, while noting that it is a scar on the reputation of the country that there are persons inside the police force who committed torture and are not only being retained but are being promoted. “It is quite possible that one day the man can emerge as the commissioner of police,” he had also warned.
The two policemen, Sergeant Narine Lall and Constable Mohanram Dolai, were found liable of torturing a 15-year-old boy in 2009, when they poured methylated spirits on his genitals and set him alight while he was in custody at the Leonora Police Station as part of a murder investigation. After the collapse of the criminal case against them– owing to the failure of the teen and other witnesses to appear to testify–they were reinstated in the force. Their promotions were made public in January.
Lall was promoted by the Police Service Commission (PSC) based on a recommendation from Persaud, who also directly promoted Dolai.
Both the PSC and Persaud have since sought to defend the promotions, saying that persons ought not to be punished indefinitely.
Granger informed that yesterday he met with Persaud and Brigadier Mark Phillips of the GDF, the first meeting after his swearing in, to plan a way forward for the two disciplined services but that the matter on the appointment of the two officers has to be resolved.
“My first meeting after the swearing in was with the Chief of Staff and Commissioner. I took a principled position, torture is a crime of universal jurisdiction and I will have to be satisfied that this matter does not become a major stumbling block with the Commissioner of Police,” the President stressed.
He pointed out that while he was present at Persaud’s appointment as acting Commissioner and supported that appointment, the matter of torture has obstructed the confirmation of Persaud to commissioner, by him.
Nonetheless he said he plans to work with the commissioner to remove any obstacles to their relationship.
“I will engage Mr Persaud about the issue concerning the promotion of the police officers involved in the torture…because torture is a very, very serious crime,” he said.
