Police accused of firing sho music at Mon Repos hou
A Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara family is now traumatized after several of its members were injured after the police allegedly barged into their premises and forcibly shut down a party during a row over music on Sunday morning.
Krishna Ralph, owner of Krishna Ralph Establishment, a mechanic workshop situated at Lot 113 Block CC, Mon Repos, ECD yesterday told Stabroek News that he held a Christmas party on Saturday evening for his employees at his premises.
However, he retired to bed early since he is unwell and does not consume alcohol leaving his wife, children and other relatives to celebrate with the employees.
At around 1.20am on Sunday, his daughter, Pratima Ralph explained that a group of men including her brother Deodat Ralph, brother-in-law Deokumar Inderjit, cousin Gautam Bissoon and the disc jockey (DJ), one of the employees who is known as ‘Boy’, were standing outside the premises to see a guest off, when a vehicle loaded with police officers passed and ordered them to either take off the music or lower the volume.
“The police pass and they told them, ‘you either take it off or you lower it down’ but it wasn’t really loud. So the boys them say that you know wah is late so they gun take it off. Them (police) seh alright. The system was at the back (of the yard) so by time they walk from the road to go in there, the police go and they come back. They come in (the yard) with one speed, so I was by the gate because the gate was open so I was going to lock it. So when I see them (police) stop I couldn’t lock the gate on them,” Pratima related.
She said that three police officers; two of whom were dressed in uniform and one plain clothes rank exited the vehicle and barged into the yard.
She said the two uniformed ranks were armed. The driver remained seated in the vehicle. “They walk in straight to the back and they tell my cousin (Bissoon) and the DJ (‘Boy’) to take it (the music) off and my cousin was like ‘we taking it off, we taking it off’ and it did already cut off right,” Pratima said.
She further explained that the plain clothes rank then began to disconnect the wires for the music system. “They (the police) start pulling out the wire from the laptop so my cousin (Bissoon) tell them ‘we cooperating, we taking it off’ and they grab it so my cousin hold onto the laptop cause if we take it off and listening to them why they taking it off,” she said.
Scuffle
At this point she said, the men and police were involved in a scuffle.
“So after them boys hold on, like they hold onto the laptop, they (police) start pushing them boys in them face, pushing them, pushing them and then my brother (Deodat) touching them (police), like touching them
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