At the trial of Vishwantie Ragnauth and Nyron Thakurdyal, who are charged with murdering Sunil Ramsundar, a policeman yesterday recounted giving the two accused a lift and hearing one of them speaking about having stabbed someone.
The jointly-charged duo is accused of murdering Ramsundar on the night of December 26th, 2014, at Patentia, West Bank Demerara.
Lance Corporal Benjamin La Fleur said that he was heading home after attending a family function when he saw the two frantically running along the road.
He said shortly after returning home, he went back out and saw the accused still standing on the road.
As it was after 10 that night, he said he decided to give them a drop out of the Patentia Housing Scheme as he knew Ragnauth who also resided in the community. He said he stopped his vehicle and they both went into the back seat.
He said he then overheard a telephone conversation Thakurdyal was having with someone, during which he uttered the words, “pick me up at de park. One a dem get stupid and I juk he up.”
La Fleur, who said he was off-duty at the time and dressed in civilian clothing, related to the court that he did not engage either of them in any conversation and neither did they engage him. He added that he drove them into the compound of the Wales Police Station, which was located a short distance away.
There, he said, he reported to the officer in charge what he had heard and the two accused were later taken into the station for questioning. He said at the time he had offered them the lift, he was unaware that Ramsundar had been stabbed and had died.
During cross-examination, defence attorney Nigel Hughes took issue with La Fleur having given a statement in the matter eight months after what he claimed he heard Thakurdyal say.
The witness, while admitting to counsel that considerable time had elapsed and that it was not normal practice to give statements so long after—especially in a murder investigation—told the court that he was awaiting the investigating ranks to contact him.
The Traffic Cop, who was stationed at the Providence Police Station at the time, said that after dropping the two off to the Wales on the night in question, he was told by the officer in-charge that “they will contact me when they ready for me.”
The defence’s contention is that the accused were heading to the police station to report the altercation.
La Fleur disagreed with Hughes’ suggestion that he had fabricated a story to merely match the police’s version of what had transpired.
On Wednesday, Constable Cledwin Bennett in his testimony had told the court that after cautioning and putting the allegation to the accused, Ragnauth responded by saying “police officer ah din guh fuh do that.”
Meanwhile, he said that Thakurdyal told him “Big man, me just part.”
The trial continues on Monday morning at 9 at the High Court in Georgetown.
