By George Barclay

WELL-dressed Ravindra Paramdar called Manesh or ‘Moe,’ who between the 20th and 21st of December, 2011, murdered Roopan Jagdeo called ‘Lil Baby’ and ‘Rabbie,’ was on Monday jailed for 57 years at the Demerara Assizes.Justice Ravendra Singh imposed the penalty after a mixed jury returned a unanimous verdict of guilty.
Earlier, the same jury were deliberating when they returned to the judge for further directions relating to provocation.
Justice Singh gave the jury the legal definition of provocation, pointing out among other things that provocation, if it existed, could be used by a reasonable person to accuse another of using provocation to cause that reasonable person to temporarily lose self-control by committing an offence.
The judge explained that in fitting submissions, a murder could be reduced to manslaughter.
The jury returned to the jury room but returned some 40 minutes later with a unanimous verdict of guilty of murder.
At this stage Justice Singh enquired from the well-dressed accused who was attired in a spotless white shirt with pants and tie to match, whether he wished to say anything about why sentence should not be passed.
The prisoner was reticent.
Lawyer Miss Sonia Parag, counsel for the accused in a plea of mitigation, urged the judge to be lenient with his client, pointing out that he has an hitherto clean record.
Justice Singh noted that the behaviour of the accused that day of the crime was horrible, as he sentenced the 25-year old man to 57 years.
Prosecutrix Miss Narissa Leander said that the prisoner had a clean record.
The prisoner was being escorted to prison to begin his sentence when crying shouts of his aged father shattered the existing silence in the court room.
Reports state that on that fateful day the accused and Jagdeo had an altercation over a bicycle during the morning hours.
That being finished, it is said that the accused was on his way to purchase a drink later that day, when a fight started between the men and Jagdeo was struck on the head with a stick and subsequently died.