Six remanded to prison for murder of Berbice Priest

One week after a Hindu priest was fatally beaten by a group of drunken men, six persons were on Friday arraigned before Magistrate Alex Moore on a murder charge.

The men appeared at the No. 51 Magistrate’s Court.

Those charged are Devindra Khemraj aka “Baya”, Javid Ghandie aka “Stompie”,  Anil Angershalam aka “Buckman”, Vidanand Khemraj aka “Black Boy”, and Gregory Tejpertab called “Greg”

It is alleged that on August 28, 2021, at Lot 10 Grant 106 Crabwood Creek, Corentyne, Berbice, they murdered 60-year-old Rishi Bharrat, a Hindu priest.

They were not required to plead to the indictable charge.

According to reports, on the day in question at around 22:15 hrs, eight men were standing in front of Bharrat’s premises imbibing and using foul language.

                                                                           (Dead: Rishi Bharrat)

Bharrat went out to the men with a piece of wood and instructed them to remove.

The men became annoyed and armed themselves with pieces of wood and dealt the religious leader several lashes about his body causing him to receive injuries.

As a result, the injured man fell to the ground. He was picked up by his relatives in an unconscious state and rushed to the Skeldon Public Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

The men were then arrested and following advice from the Director of Public Prosecution( DPP) they were charged with the capital offence of murder.

A post mortem examination conducted on the remains of Bharrat revealed that he died as a result of a
a fractured skull and brain hemorrhage.