By Joseph Allen
The family of an inmate at the New Amsterdam Prison who was serving a sentence of 16 months for assault, is seeking answers over his death after he was found injured in his cell.
The dead inmate has been identified as 30-year-old, Devendra Singh, of Number 65 Village, East Berbice, Corentyne.
Reports are that Singh died at the New Amsterdam Hospital on Wednesday after spending several days there in a critical condition.
Director of Prisons, Nicklon Elliot, when contacted on Wednesday said that he had not been fully up to date with the matter but assured that the information will be provided as soon as possible.
As they await that information, Singh’s family members believe that he was murdered and they are seeking answers.
Stabroek News spoke to a cousin, Faneza Bacchus, who explained that for two weeks they had not heard from Singh and this prompted a visit from his mother and father, who live overseas.
Upon visiting the prison on Monday to check up on Singh, the family was told that Singh had been found injured in his cell and had to be rushed to the hospital, where he was admitted on Thursday.
Bacchus said that no one ever called or informed them that Singh was hospitalised. Anxious to see Singh, the family visited him at the hospital on Tuesday where they observed that he bore marks of violence. They were told by prison authorities that no photographing or recording was allowed.
“So, when they visited him Tuesday morning, the officer told them that they could not take out any picture or anything. So, they tried to talk to him but he did not respond to them. He just showed them signs, his eyes were black and blue, and he couldn’t open his eyes, his ears were swollen with teeth marks, and he was also urinating blood, and his foot was swollen as if it was fractured and he had a hard hit.”
Bacchus recounted that when the family asked what might have happened they were told by the officer in charge that Singh was in a cell with two others when he was found. She added that the officer stated that they did not hear anything happen the day before he was found, as everything appeared to be normal the night before he was found.
The cousin noted that the family was also told that the Central Investigation Department (CID) was called in and that the two prisoners were expected to be questioned.
She added that Singh’s post-mortem is expected soon and the family will be hoping for answers and justice.
The woman was critical of the prison service and how the matter was dealt with.
“The question remains that if a man was beaten in prison, where were the officers at the time? Where were the prison guards? They were supposed to have a prison guard there. And another thing, they never informed us, and this is the rule when you go to prison, right? Normally when they do the admission they ask you for your relative contact information, if something is to happen to you in prison, who would you like to contact, and everything so, they have all the information they could have made contact with us and say X, Y, Z.”
She said that if they had known the state Singh was in, they could have acted faster to take him to get better care.
