POLICE, on Wednesday, were forced to intervene after Regional Executive Officer (REO) of Region Two, Denis Jaikarran, reportedly locked government Councillor Naithram in his office for about 30 minutes following an argument.

Naithram, on release, said the REO ordered him to leave his (Naithram’s) office but he refused.
“He was walking around and he told me that I have to leave the office. I told him I cannot, we then got into an argument and because I refused to leave the office, he went outside and pull the lock,” the government councillor told this publication.

While locked inside, Naithram used his telephone to call the police to complain about his ‘unlawful’ imprisonment by Jaikarran.

According to Naithram, the REO was unprofessional in the manner in which he approached him. He also said that at the last Regional Democratic Council (RDC) statutory meeting, the REO walked out when questions were posed to him.

Naithram believes that the REO is out to take revenge on him because he spoke out against his behaviour at the recent statutory meeting.

Acting Information Officer, Farouk Basir, who spoke on behalf of the REO, said the councillor was asked by the REO to move so that maintenance work could be done in the office.
Basir said that another office under the RDC building was provided for the councillor to occupy but he refused. He further explained that the REO usually conducts daily inspections around the compound and Wednesday morning while he was doing so, he found Naithram still in his office.

He said Jaikarran asked Naithram to leave but he refused to do so, and, as a result, an argument ensued where Naithram called the REO a “Jackass”.

“The REO asked him to remove so he can lock the office, he refused so the REO just locked the padlock and proceeded to a sexual act workshop where he spent 30 minutes with the teachers,” Basir said.

While upstairs in the boardroom, two CID ranks visited Jaikarran and took a statement from him. Jaikarran later told reporters that the matter is in the hands of the police.