The pandit accused of raping a young woman in her home, after being invited to pray for her, has fled the country, leaving a family with no hope that he will ever be brought to justice.
The mother of the 22-year-old victim told Stabroek News that a relative of the pandit has confirmed that the man left the country.
Although the man was never charged since the alleged attack in July, he had been held by police and was later released on $100,000 station bail. Since then, the family was told that the police file had been sent to the Chambers of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for advice on charging the man.
“My daughter is frustrated,” the grieving mother said. “When I told her what I heard, she said mommy everything is over,” she lamented.
The mother voiced her dissatisfaction with the justice system for the sloth in instituting a charge against the man. “And if they send the advice now, it would be no use because he might not return and no one would be charged. Police had said immigration would block his name but if he gone out of the country that means they didn’t block his name” the mother noted.
The pandit was accused of raping the young woman, who was unwell, after he was invited to offer prayers for her at her home.
The mother recalled that she contacted the pandit, who had performed a religious ceremony for her sometime back, to pray for her daughter, who had been ill for a while. The mother related that, among other things, the religious leader requested privacy and alcohol and he was given a bottle of tequila.
Sometime later, when the young woman’s father went to check, he caught the pandit in the act. At this point, family members detained the pandit and guarded him until the police arrived. The young woman was taken to the hospital for a medical afterward.
