Essequibo police officers charged with manslaughter; attempting to obstruct justice

THREE police officers attached to ‘G’ Division (Essequibo Islands, West Demerara) were, on Friday, charged for the death of the taxi driver, Lallbacchan Bacchan. Thirty-nine-year-old Lallbacchan Bacchan of Maria’s Lodge had lost his life on July 1, 2019, while he was in the lock-ups at Suddie Police Station.

The officers made their first appearance via SKYPE before Essequibo Magistrate Esther Sam to answer to the charges. Vanessa Millo, a woman special Lance Corporal attached to Aurora Police Station was slapped with a manslaughter charge while Denzel Glasgow and Duane Braithwaite were charged with an attempt to obstruct the course of justice. The police officers were not required to plead to the offenses. Millo was granted $400,000 bail for manslaughter while Glasgow and Braithwaite were granted $50,000 bail respectively. The matter will be called again on August, 7.

The taxi driver’s death had raised much alarm in the media and according to the post mortem examination, he had died from asphyxiation or fractured larynx. The police however, in a statement had said the prisoner had allegedly fallen in the lock-ups, causing injuries.
Relatives had contended that the deceased Lallbacchan Bacchan went into the lock-ups on June 28, 2019 in high spirits and was not suffering from any illness nor did he have any marks about his body. They have also claimed that on the day when they went to the funeral home his body was swollen, he had a bump on his head and bruises about his body. Lallbacchan Bacchan was arrested after two warrants were issued for him for driving under the influence of alcohol.