Commander of Region Six, Shivpersaud Bacchus has denied striking a vendor with a cane during attempts to bring order on Monday evening at the Corriverton Market following a fire.
The vendor accused him of hitting her with a cane while attempting to remove affected vendors from the Corriverton Market following a fire at the location.
It was a state of confusion on Monday evening at the Corriverton Market where a fire suspected to be of electrical origin destroyed two stalls completely and damaged two. While firefighters were busy working to put out and contain the fire –something they were quickly able to do – ranks attached to the B Division seemed at a loss in managing the crowd of people and affected vendors working to soak and secure their stalls.
Some vendors stood in dismay and watched on as they hoped that the fire would quickly be put out and not spread throughout neighbouring stalls, while others began soaking their stalls and most started to empty theirs. However, in the midst of their anguish, they were shouted at and scolded by senior members of the division who were present and were seemingly unaware of how to make an on-the-ground assessment to assist the vendors while managing the situation.
The vendors while scared of the fire were trying their utmost to secure their stalls as they were similarly frightened that looters would pounce on them, however, police officers who seemingly did not understand the vendors’ worries hurried them out of the location despite some fire-fighters telling the vendors to remove their items.
One vendor, Parbatte Devi Khemraj, who sells groceries and food at the Corriverton Market, said that on Monday evening she was standing at a location near her stall when Bacchus while attempting to get another woman to move out of the area allegedly struck her.
Bacchus when contacted yesterday, said that where the fire was he had cause to move out about five persons “who was just next to the fire.”
“One female was temporarily detained and subsequently released. At no time I hit anyone”, he said, denying the allegation when pressed by Stabroek News yesterday.
He then said, “If that person want to make a report complain let him/her do so at HQ Eve Leary.”
When told by another reporter that his response did not match the sequence of events as captured on video during a live feed on social media, the Commander responded, “What sequence of the event clarity you need?”
Khemraj yesterday explained, that she was in her stall “and giving the boys water to soak the other stands because them fire wheel water was finished so them boys take the water from me stall with bucket and soak the other stand so that the fire na come down and burn the other three stand.”
However, she said, a vendor next to her placed one of her machines in her (Khemraj’s) stall but she advised the woman to take the machine out since the fire was spreading at that time “so the girl call one of she relative to move the things and they move it and she leave with couple things to move and Commander Bacchus come down and he walk in the market with a torchlight and he come in we stand and he tell me ‘get out, get out, ayo … get out’ and the girl said don’t shout at her and he shove the girl and when he shove the girl the girl shove him back and then he chuck the girl and knock the girl so I was infront of the girl… He take the stick he had in his hand and lash the girl and chuck she and carry she to the front for a female to arrest her.”
Stabroek News was present when Bacchus held onto the female by her shirt and pulled her out of the market track ordering a female rank to arrest her.
Khemraj continued yesterday, “Whilst going with the girl he knock me with the stick and ‘I say how can you knock me that I didn’t refuse what you say I keep walking all the time’ and he seh ayo get out the f… market and he start to cuss and get on and when he knock me now I stand up and start fight and me seh me a vendor at the market and we trying to save the rest of stand them all he could have said was ayo get out the market.”
Transpired
It was at that stage that Khemraj immediately informed the other vendors who were present what had transpired. The vendors were angered at the ranks who then used two tables to block the vendors – ultimately preventing free access to firefighters who were moving in and out of the location.
While the woman has not filed a report against Bacchus she said that she has put it in the media, “He cannot hit me like that, my belly is bran and black and blue with it and this morning when I wake is sheer pain… He is a Commander and I feel like who can I take a medical and give? Them feel like them a big boys and them can do anything because he was in uniform and he feel he can do anybody anything.”
Furthermore, the woman said, that “for a bigger police, for a commander he really get on dotish which he isn’t supposed to do that, he supposed to show the citizens respect.”
Further, according to the information gathered, the Commander was the only rank at the location with a cane and when asked yesterday if any of the ranks had a baton he confirmed that no rank at the location had a baton during the fire.
Meanwhile, Bacchus yesterday also said that there were no reports of items being stolen from any of the stalls despite vendors claiming that they were looted while attempting to relocate items from their stalls.
Vendors who gathered at the Corriverton Market yesterday morning expressed their frustration at the situation claiming that in the midst of relocating items from their stalls, they suffered losses.
Mayor of Corriverton, Imran Amin yesterday told the vendors at the market that they should report the matter to the police. Furthermore, the market was closed yesterday, and according to Amin who spoke to the vendors gathered outside of the market, this was to facilitate the investigation by the Guyana Fire Service.
Wavney, another vendor said, that when she arrived at the location on Monday evening “there was big, big fire and instead of people helping you fetching out your goods they were looting the goods, thieving it.”
Additionally, the woman relayed, that the water damaged a lot of items and it was baffling why they would have to report it to the police force rather than the municipality. “He (Mayor) said he’s talking based on what the police tell him that nobody lost nothing and I could be a living daylight to say how much things lost, we have great loss last night”, she lamented.
