Commander of Region Six, Senior Superintendent Shivpersaud Bacchus last evening confirmed that four ranks including a police corporal were placed under close arrest after the carving up of a cow’s carcass, a piece of which was found in one of the GPF’s vehicles.
Commander Bacchus, in a statement released by the Guyana Police Force (GPF), said that the incident occurred on Tuesday between midnight and 1.30 am at the Number 19 Public Road on the Corentyne. The four ranks involved are a corporal and three constables.
According to the report, the ranks were on an Anti-Crime Patrol with the force’s vehicle, PAB 3148.
“The ranks responded to a report of an alleged damage accident at #19 Public Road involving minibus #PSS 9208 owned and driven by Aziz Mohamed Goolmohamed, a 67-year-old pensioner of Kilcoy, Chesney, Berbice; and a cow branded 97 over LK.”
The report said that it was alleged by Goolmohamed and other relatives that when the patrol arrived he had already spoken to a traffic rank who had visited the scene earlier and taken the necessary information.
He was reportedly advised by the said traffic rank to “cut off the skin of the cow where the brand was” and to report to the Central Police Station in New Amsterdam to give a statement, after which the traffic rank left.
However, “when the patrol arrived at the scene shortly after, several persons also arrived at the scene and they started to cut up the cow. Aziz said he observed one of the police ranks with a cutlass cutting meat and the other ranks were in the police vehicle.”
The rank’s action was captured on video by one of Goolmohamed’s relatives.
The man told investigators that he did not ask any questions about the people cutting the animal since the police were present. He then proceeded to the Central Police Station in New Amsterdam with the piece of skin with the brand as instructed by the traffic rank.
After finishing at the station, he returned to the scene with relatives and observed that only the guts of the cow were on the parapet, and no one was around.
Just around that time, Commander Bacchus and several other senior ranks were passing when they observed Goolmohamed on the road (at the accident scene) and stopped.
“After learning of the accident and the rank’s action, the Commander called for the ranks to report immediately to the location. However, the patrol ranks reportedly got into an accident with the force’s vehicle while returning to the initial accident scene on the Number 19 Road.”
Further, when they eventually arrived at the location a piece of the carcass with skin was found in the vehicle tray.
“When questioned, the Corporal stated that he was taking the carcass to lodge as an exhibit of the earlier accident”, the report noted.
The ranks were all placed under close arrest at Central Police Station, as the investigation continues.
The incident comes days after chicken – believed to have been smuggled from Suriname – was found in a Skeldon ambulance. No one has so far been charged in relation to that matter.
