While their neighbour Rean Ghani has been cleared of all culpability in the fatal 2017 beating of Ruby fisherman Shereffudeen Nazamudeen; father and daughter duo Surendra Sukhdeo and Mandy Sukhdeo have been found guilty of unlawfully killing the young man.
It was the conclusion of their second trial. The first ended in a hung jury back in February of last year.
Following hours of deliberations, a jury yesterday afternoon unanimously acquitted the trio on the capital offence of murder; but on the lesser charge of manslaughter, found Surendra Sukhdeo and his daughter guilty in a proportion of 10-2.
The 12-member panel, however, unanimously acquitted a visibly relieved Ghani who lifted his hands in praise.
Justice Jo-Ann Barlow informed him that he was free to go; while she informed the father and daughter that their sentencing will be deferred to September 8th pending the presentation of a probation and other social impact reports.
Mandy Sukhdeo, a former Region Three AFC councillor, Surendra Sukhdeo, a former Good Hope/Hydronie Neighbourhood Democratic Council APNU councillor and their neighbour Ghani had been jointly-charged with the Valentine’s Day—February 14th, 2017 murder of Nazamudeen at Ruby, East Bank Essequibo.
It had been reported that the fisherman was beaten to death after he reportedly attempted to snatch Mandy Sukhdeo’s handbag.
Reports were that on the day in question the woman was returning home from the Parika Health Centre where she worked in the dental department when she claimed Nazamudeen called ‘Sheriff’ attempted to grab her bag.
Following the incident, the dead man’s relatives had told this newspaper that he is familiar with the woman as they live close by. They surmised that he must have jokingly pulled her bag when she raised an alarm that he wanted to steal it
Mandy Sukhdeo is said to have informed her father who along with another relative went to her rescue. They confronted Nazamudeen, who had gone into a nearby yard. Upon learning that he was armed with a piece of wood, they reportedly also similarly armed themselves.
They then dealt Nazamudeen several lashes about his body, including to his head. He then collapsed and they tied his hands with wire and alerted the police.
After Mandy Sukhdeo had raised the alarm, her father ran out with a piece wood to beat the man but he escaped and climbed on top of a house.
Eyewitnesses had said that he, however slid off the roof and the woman’s father allegedly dealt him a lash to his head and he started to bleed.
It was reported that all the time he, along with relatives who witnessed the incident, begged the attackers not to injure him further. He ran through the gate but the father and two other persons continued to beat him.
He fell at the corner of the road and someone threw a rope for them to tie him up but they ended up using pieces of wires and bound his hands and feet together.
The Prosecution’s case was that Nazamudeen, formerly of Lot 117 Ruby, East Bank Essequibo, was beaten at the hands of the trio, all of whom resided in the Ruby area.
An autopsy had given the man’s cause of death as shock and haemorrhage due to multiple injuries, compounded by blunt trauma to the head.
He had been rushed to the Leonora Cottage Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries.
Police investigations later led to the arrest and detention of Ghani and the Sukhdeos.
The trial was heard at the High Court in Demerara.
