The five men who are accused of brutalising Black Bush Polder, Coren-tyne labourer Gregory Bhola on Sunday, leaving him hospitalised in intensive care, have been charged.
The joint charge of inflicting grievous bodily harm was read on Thurs-day at the Whim Magis-trate’s Court to Zameer Alli, called “Rayan”, a 22-year-old fisherman of Lot 19 Grassfield, Port Mou-rant, Corentyne, Berbice; Ameer Alli, called “Marlon,” a 23-year-old labourer of Lot 19 Grassfield, Port Mourant, Corentyne; Devindra Nandlall, called “Buddy,” a 30-year-old construction worker of Lot 30 Bound Yard, Port Mourant, Corentyne; Balraj Sakichand, called “Ravin”, a 28-year-old rice farmer of Lot 41 Bound Yard, Port Mourant, Corentyne; and Khemraj Sakichand, called “Saki”, a 30-year-old fisherman of Lot 50 Bound Yard, Port Mourant, Corentyne.
The Guyana Police Force (GPF) said the five accused appeared via Skype before Magistrate Alex Moore, who read the Indictable charge to them. They were not required to plead to the charge. Bail was subsequently refused and they were all remanded to prison until February 2, 2022.
Bhola, 29, of Lot 48 Johanna South Black Bush Polder, was beaten in his village around 5.45 pm on Sunday.
The GPF had previously reported that Bhola’s father, Errol Bhola, also known as “Ninney”, 64, a farmer, also of Lot 48 Johanna South, was returning home from his farm when he was informed that the five men known to him were beating his son.
After rushing to the scene, the senior Bhola noticed that one of the attackers was armed with a cutlass, one with an iron bar, and the other three with pieces of wood.
“Errol further stated that he asked the five men why they were beating his son, to which they responded, ‘stay out of the matter or else we will kill him.’ He was then told by one of the men to kneel and when he refused, he was pushed to the ground. The five men then took Gregory into a nearby yard and continued beating him,” the police reported.
At that point, the father then went into his car and rushed over to the Mibicuri Police Station where he reported the matter, after which he was accompanied by police officers to the scene.
By then the five men had escaped and the injured Gregory Bhola was rushed to the Mibicuri Public Hospital. He was subsequently transferred to the New Amsterdam Public Hospital, where he was a patient in critical condition.
On Monday, based on information received, the police proceeded to Bound Yard, Port Mourant, Corentyne, where the five suspects were located and arrested.
