Almost three months after boat collision victim Mohamed Abdool Shameer was found buried in a shallow grave more than 60 miles from the scene of the crash, two Pomeroon men are to be charged with murder and a policeman is also to be charged over collecting a bribe to stall the investigations.
Crime Chief Wendell Blanhum late yesterday confirmed that the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) had advised that Lennox Baharally, a boat builder, and his friend Rondell Edwards be charged with the capital offence and they are set to make their first appearance before the Chief Magistrate at the Georgetown Magistrate’s Court this morning. They were arrested at CID Headquarters, Eve Leary yesterday when they turned up to report to officers, one of the conditions on which they were granted station bail during the initial stages of the investigation.
Blanhum also confirmed that the DPP has recommended that a policeman involved in the investigation be charged with corruption.
The police file with the advice was returned to the police yesterday morning.
Based on what Stabroek News was told Shameer’s boat was run over by a larger vessel on the night of April 25 and instead of being taken to the nearby hospital or police station, his mangled body was transported to Moruca where it was placed in a swamp and covered with tree branches and leaves. The collision occurred in the Pomeroon River.
Shameer, a polio victim who farmed to sustain himself, had left his Jacklow, Pomeroon home in a paddle boat around 7.30 pm to visit a friend. It would appear that he was on his way back home when he was run over by the larger boat, which was piloted by Baharally who happened to be his nephew. The two were not on speaking terms. The nephew and two other persons including Edwards were travelling together when the mishap occurred. No police report was made after the collision occurred. Instead Shameer’s body was pulled from the water and placed in the larger vessel, leaving his badly damaged boat behind.
Police, after eventually learning of the incident, arrested Baharally and Edwards, and also questioned several others.
Reports reaching Stabroek News are that it was Edwards who would later lead police to a site in Moruca, more than 60 miles away from the scene of the collision, where Shameer’s body was found.
Despite being provided with details of everything that transpired prior to the discovery and the parties who were involved, the police did not lay charges.
Instead both men were released on bail and the investigation was handed over to the Maritime Administration.
The investigation was later turned over to the ranks at CID Headquarters.
Noorajhan, the dead man’s sister, has repeatedly expressed dissatisfaction with the pace of the investigation. She had lamented that the delay in justice was making her elderly mother ill and that all the family wants is for those responsible for the boat collision and efforts to conceal Shameer’s body to be brought to justice.
The woman insisted that someone had to be held accountable for what happened because Shameer could not have gotten up after the collision and walked to Moruca to bury himself.
Stabroek News saw a photograph of the scene which showed Shameer’s foot sticking out. Another taken after the branches were removed, showed that he was clad only in his pants. His shirt, hat and shoes were missing.
Noorajhan insisted that someone had to have transported her brother to the location and the police had been provided with that information. The woman emphasized that even if Shameer died following the collision, he should have been taken to the hospital or the police station.
She said that no one had the right to dispose of a body and she did not buy the explanation that this was done out of panic.
Attorney Jerome Khan, who represents the boat builder, had accused this newspaper of being engaged in “sensationalist-style reporting” which was “scandalous and highly irresponsible”.
While Khan’s letter, which was published in Stabroek News, did not deny that his client had collided with Shameer, it said nothing about how the body ended up at Moruca.
Noorajhan had said that the contents of the letter left her in shock.
Yesterday, she expressed satisfaction that charges are finally being laid. “Although nothing can bring him back, at least we will get some justice,” she said, her voice laced with emotion.
