ESSEQUIBO Coast residents, especially women of Devonshire Castle Village, are angry over police actions in dealing with the matter concerning a 31-year-old mother who was reportedly brutally raped about one week ago in a clump of bushes.

According to reports, her attacker dragged her through bushes, barbed wire and thorns, after forcing her from her bed at around 2:00am in the morning while her children held on to her feet and fought the attacker to let her go.
Several women of the troubled village said they are not getting justice, and the police are testing their faith. The women said that the police came to the village on Tuesday afternoon and arrested the woman’s husband and took him to the Station, where he was locked up.
They said two other persons are also in custody for allegedly beating a rape suspect.
The women are concerned over the way the police have treated the woman’s husband who is going through much pain and frustration while seeking justice for his wife.
The women are calling on the police to release the men who are in custody. They said when the alleged rapist was captured there was a large crowd at the backdam and the people in the crowd gave him a sound thrashing.
According to one woman, “How can the police now come and arrest three persons, they have to arrest the whole village.” Another said, “Look how many women got raped in this village and their is no arrest of anyone who committed the crimes over the past months but when the villagers capture a person highly suspected to be the rapist police are now harassing the men of the village by arresting them.”
Meanwhile, women in the village are calling for justice, and demanding that the police release the three villagers immediately.

(By Rajendra Prabhulall)