AT yesterday's hearing of the orphanage inmate murder trial, the judge and jury heard that the Number One accused Nazir Hamid, had reportedly told the Police, "I know nothing about the killing of the boy Rahim Abdool. I have been set up by the CIOG, who is out to take over the organisation because the Anjuman has a lot of money."
Justice of Appeal Ms Claudette Singh is presiding at the trial in which Nazir Hamid and Yusuf Raham called 'Kenneth' are indicted with the killing of Rahim Abdool between the December 16 and 17 2002 in the county of Demerara.
The accused, represented by attorney-at-law Mr. Hukumchand, have pleaded not guilty.
Ms Simone Bullen is prosecuting.
Delivering her opening address yesterday, Prosecutor Bullen told the jury that the case is based on circumstantial evidence. But she pointed out that while no one saw the actual killing, the Prosecution was sure that when all the circumstances are taken into consideration, they, the jury, would conclude that the Prosecution would have established a case of guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
According to her, the Prosecution is alleging that the boy, Abdool, who was at the orphanage, had left for the accused at a spare parts business premises in Camp Street and was never seen alive again.
His body with marks of violence was later found at the Sophia Railway Embankment.
A detective Corporal, who testified for the Prosecution yesterday, said that after he told accused Nazir Hamid about the allegation that he and Yusuf Raham had beaten the boy Abdool to death, the accused had told him that he had nothing to do with the alleged killing of the boy.
According to the Corporal the accused then gave him a caution statement in which he blamed the Central Islamic Organisation of Guyana (CIOG) and officers of that organisation of trying to take control of the Anjuman. They had threatened to put him (the accused) in trouble, Hamid had said.
The witness read to the jury the caution statement, in which names of persons in high offices were called as sympathising with the CIOG in its antagonistic attitude to Anjuman officials.
Under cross-examination by Mr. Hukumchand, the Corporal said that although he took the statement in which the accused called the names of individuals, who were waging a war of hate and factionalism against the Anjuman, he (the witness) did not carry out an investigation to ascertain whether the allegation was true or false.
Witness also said that he did not recommend to his superiors that the allegations should be investigated, and, as a consequence, he could not tell whether or not the accused was speaking the truth.
During the hearing yesterday, Prosecutor Bullen was about to tender photographs of the body of the boy, when she related to the judge that the negatives of the photographs had disappeared.
An effort will be made to locate the negatives, which if recovered, will be tendered on the resumption today.