ASIF Rahim, also known as “Khartoo”, of Ocean Garden, Meten-Meer-Zorg, West Coast Demerara was beaten while in the custody of the police, but the blows he had received had not been inflicted on him by the police, but by another prisoner.

The Guyana Police Force, in a press release issued to the media on Thursday following reports in the local press about the incident — and subsequent demise of Khartoo after his release from the hospital — made the foregoing statement in their defence and said that Khartoo had been arrested and detained after he had reportedly assaulted his wife, Sursattie Chandrapaul.

The release said he had indicated to ranks that he had been beaten by another prisoner to whom he had been handcuffed while on the detention bench.

The father of four had first been picked up on Saturday at 00:25 hrs after the police had received a report alleging that he had abused his wife. The police have said that during attempts by ranks to arrest him, he had resisted but was subsequently subdued and taken to the Leonora Police Station; and while there, he had made no complaint that he had been beaten or had received any other mistreatment by the arresting ranks.

After Rahim had been placed on the bench with the cuffs attached to another prisoner, and after he had claimed that he had been assaulted, the police took a decision to move him to the Parika Police Station, two Saturday nights ago, and he was kept in the lock-ups before being charged with assault and being brought back to the Leonora Police Station on Monday last, from where he was expected to attend court.

While at the Leonora Police Station, the man’s wife showed up and reported that her husband had been beaten by the police, and, as a consequence, Rahim had been taken to the Leonora Cottage Hospital, from where he was immediately transferred to the West Demerara Regional Hospital.

He was later released from hospital and had been scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday.
The police in the division then launched an investigation into the report that Rahim had been assaulted by a police rank, and after reports had begun to surface that the father of four had passed away, knowing that the man was in the police custody and there were claims that he had been assaulted by the police, the matter was shifted to Force Headquarters at Eve Leary for attention of the Police Office for Professional Responsibly (OPR), which had taken over the investigation.