Five charged with murder of phone card vendor
Camera shy murder accused, Mark Dhuman (right) covers his face
Camera shy murder accused, Mark Dhuman (right) covers his face

Five men appeared in the Whim Magistrate’s Court on Thursday charged with the murder of Phone Card vendor Danian Anthony Jagdeo who was gunned down last week in the Corentyne. Mark Dhuman, 22, businessman of Lot 190,Nigg Settlement; Abdul Azimullah,34,Cattle Farmer of 183 Hampshire Village; Abdul Zahir, 28, Cane Harvester of New Scheme, Adelphi, East Canje; Shannon Batson,24, of Toopoo Village and Satesh Budram, 19, of Lot 70C Hampshire Village, were all not required to plea to the indictable charge and were remanded to prison. They will return to Court on March 6.
The Charge which was read by Magistrate Charlyn Artiga, stated that on February 8, 2017, at Adventure Village, the men allegedly murdered Danian Jagdeo during the course of a robbery. As the five accused entered the Court yard, a very emotional Mary Jagdeo, wife of Danian Jagdeo had to be restrained, consoled and supported from fainting as she moved from rage to sorrow while questioning: “Why they had to kill him…he never hurt anyone we cannot live without him, how will the children live without him.”
Fighting back tears, Mrs. Jagdeo said she is still in disbelief and still cannot come to grips with her husband’s death. “They killed him and left him to die like a dog, he didn’t deserve this…We want Justice!” she screamed.
The businessman was shot three times at point blank range. The 36-year-old father of four of Lot 12 G, King Street, Williamsburg, was a Phone Card Agent who serviced the entire East Berbice, Corentyne. On the day of his killing he was making a delivery to the Soman’s Grocery when one of two men followed him into the shop and opened fire. The gunman relieved the injured Jagdeo of a bag which contained an undisclosed sum of cash and a quantity of phone cards before escaping with his accomplice who was waiting on a motorcycle a short distance away.
Dhuman and Budram were represented by Attorney, Mursalene Bacchus and Rohan Jagmohan respectively. Jagmohan told the court, both men were allegedly beaten while in custody and requested medical attention which was denied. He alleged that his clients were taken to the Albion Estate Road and to the Whim Police Station where they were beaten by Police. Azimullah, who was represented by Attorney Kim Kyte, in association with Attorney Tonya Clement-Warren, also registered a complaint that her client was beaten while in custody. Further, the Number three and four accused, Zahir and Batson were unrepresented, they both detailed to the court that they were severely beaten by the police.
Zahir explained that in the process he suffered a fractured left side rib. He noted that he was also denied medical intervention. On the other hand, Batson related he was picked up from his home and taken to the Rose Hall Outpost and to the Whim Police Station where he was beaten to the face and lower body. Batson mentioned to the court that he suffered a fractured rib and injuries to his face. He also alleged that police fired three gunshots in the direction of his head which grazed the side of his forehead. As the men stood in the Prisoner’s dock, family members of Jagdeo sat in the opposite side with looks of sorrow and grief. Police Prosecutor Phillip Sheriff had no objections for the disclosure of statements to the defense. He told the court one more statement is outstanding after which the file will be ready for the commencement of the Preliminary Inquiry.

SHARE THIS ARTICLE :
Facebook
Twitter
WhatsApp

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

All our printed editions are available online
emblem3
Subscribe to the Guyana Chronicle.
Sign up to receive news and updates.
We respect your privacy.