Claims cops slow to respond exaggerated - senior rank
Second attempted attack repelled by vigilantes
Stabroek News
August 30, 2002
A senior officer of the Guyana Police Force yesterday refuted claims by residents of Non Pariel Housing Scheme that the police were slow to respond to reports of Wednesday morning's robberies in the community. Six households were terrorised by a band of 12 gunmen who methodically went from one house to the next, beating and robbing men, women and children. One man, Rasheed, who lost his wife in an accident last Saturday, was the first to be attacked. He was set ablaze, while mourners, who were comforting him, were stripped of their valuables. Residents in the area complained that they had tried unsuccessfully to contact the police at the Vigilance Station, less than five minutes away. They said the police arrived at about 4 am, approximately one hour after the bandits had left. But the senior officer, who requested anonymity, told this newspaper yesterday that that time was exaggerated. "We got there much earlier than that...The first attack occurred at 2:40 [am] and the ranks got into the area at 3:08 [am]. But people must appreciate that if we get a call that armed bandits [are] in the area, we got to go tactfully," the officer commented. The lone telephone line at the Vigilance Station, too, "is perpetually engaged," another senior rank stated in annoyance yesterday. But his colleague pointed out: "What people must appreciate is that Vigilance [Police Station] is very busy at this time, because it [is] close to Buxton...[There are] lots of activities and they [policemen] got work to do. The men got to investigate cases, make calls to get statements, we got to work, so I wouldn't deny that the line is always busy." He explained, though, that after residents were unable to reach the police at Vigilance, they called the operations room at Cove and John Police Station a number of villages away, and it was the ranks there who made the contact via a radio set. The officer said the call was placed to Cove and John Station at 3 am on Wednesday. In an effort to correct the situation, another telephone line will be installed at the Vigilance Station. "We have already received approval from the administration to get another phone line, but it isn't installed yet," the officer told this newspaper. He said, though, that the new line will only be one-way to receive calls. It is not clear when that line will be installed. Meanwhile, no arrests have been made as yet following the early Wednesday morning attacks at Non Pariel Housing Scheme, but the police said yesterday they are "following up a number of leads." Less than 24 hours after that attack, a vigilante group yesterday morning was forced to confront another band of gunmen who tried to invade more homes in the area. Reports reaching Stabroek News state that at about 2 am yesterday, a group of attackers made an attempt to rob residents of Block 12 Non Pariel, just a stone's throw away from Section 'B' where the Wednesday morning robberies took place. However, members of the community-policing group in the area blew several whistles and the gunmen fired two shots in the air and escaped, one resident said. Prior to that incident, this newspaper understands, several vehicles were pounced upon in the vicinity of Coldingen, East Coast Demerara and also on the Buxton Public Road.
Non Pariel attacks
Burnt man still critical
Fifty-six-year-old Haroon Rasheed who was set on fire by bandits who robbed him and others during his wife's wake early Wednesday morning, is still in a critical condition at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GHPC).
Yesterday, the Lot 362 Non Pariel, East Coast Demerara resident was seen lying in his hospital bed, the burns on his body covered with bandages. Rasheed was among the victims of a daring robbery with violence on Wednesday at Non Pariel. He was doused with kerosene oil and then set ablaze by the bandits. The man was also lashed across his body with a cutlass. He appears to have lost sight in both of his eyes.
He recounted briefly yesterday that he was among a group of men playing dominoes when the bandits marched into his yard. He said he was the first to be attacked with a thumping lash with a cutlass across his back. The man said he was hit with a handgun on his face and slashed behind his ear with the cutlass. The deep wound was seen behind Rasheed's ear yesterday still bleeding slightly. His face, which was severely scorched, had turned black and the skin on his chest had peeled away. Rasheed was also unable to see and was heard asking his relatives for eye drops. While he is able to speak the man complained that he was not feeling well and was not comfortable in the hospital.
Around his bedside were several of his relatives who were still coming to grips with the tragedy. Rasheed was recovering from a stroke at the time of his attack but was still able to move around. His wife Amina Rasheed who was a victim of a hit and run accident last week was laid to rest on Wednesday without him being able to attend her funeral.