Businessman facing police harassment for letter to President

A Berbice businessman is incurring the wrath of some police officials in the Ancient County as a result of a letter he wrote to President Donald Ramotar highlighting their alleged demand for money to process his firearm application. The businessman, Deocharan Bhagroo, who operates Munesh Trucking Services, located at number 48 village, Corentyne, is accusing the police in Berbice of constant harassment, after they learnt of his letter to the President. He told Kaieteur News that he has received several menacing telephone calls from some senior police officials in the county, who are obviously upset that the matter had reached the Head of State. And given the nature of his business, he believes that he could suffer further reprisals from the police, especially since a massive investigation into his allegations has been launched. Bhagroo had initially applied twice before for a firearm licence and received no acknowledgement from the police. In fact, in his letter to President Ramotar he claimed that after completing the necessary documentation to facilitate the process at the Number 51 Police Station two years ago, he never heard from the police. Sometime in October last, the businessman spoke to Attorney General Anil Nandlall about the situation and was advised to reapply, which he did on October 26. He cited security concerns, given his accumulated assets, and the fact that another trucker was recently brutally murdered. Bhagroo said that on November 23, he was contacted via telephone by the Officer in Charge (O/C) of the Whim Police Station who invited him to the station. He stated that since he was engaged at the time, he could not respond to the invitation. “He (O/C) keep molesting me over the telephone…He however persuaded me to ‘come now’,” the businessman wrote in his letter to the president, which was carbon copied to the Attorney General. When he eventually turned up at the station he had his fingerprints taken and presented all his relevant documents, which he said satisfied the requirements for his application. He said that in the presence of his driver, the Officer in Charge of the Whim Police Station demanded $300,000 to process his application. According to Bhagroo, the officer then appeared to make a telephone call to a superior officer and his conversation suggested that the person on the other end of the line approved the amount that was being demanded. “I feel rejected. He sent me home to get the money. I leave all the documents and went home, promising to return with the money. He keep calling me every day. I never went back to the police station,” Bhagroo stated. He said that he subsequently met another businessman who related a similar story. The frustrated businessman then wrote to the president, outlining his plight and from all indications, the Head of State ordered the Police Commissioner to investigate. “Since I write the President, is sheer harassment. All of dem (police) vex because I report the bribe (demand),” Bhagroo told this newspaper. He has since given a number of statements on the matter and is scheduled to do so again when investigators from the Office of Professional Responsibility travel to Berbice soon to investigate his allegations. Bhagroo is now convinced that his previous applications were ducked because he did not “grease the hands of the police at Whim.” “I go through the right procedure, why I have to pay?” Bhagroo lamented. The businessman said that he was robbed four times during last year, forcing him to send away his wife and children to Trinidad for while.