Seelall Persaud confirmed as Police Commissioner; Opposition Leader says not consulted

Last Updated on Tuesday, 10 March 2015, 18:47 by GxMedia

Even as President Donald Ramotar prepared to Tuesday afternoon swear in Mr. Seelall Persaud as the substantive Police Commissioner, the Opposition Leader David Granger said he was not consulted.

“I’ll be advised by Counsel. This is a legal matter now because it has moved from an administrative zone into a legal zone,” Granger told Demerara Waves Online News.

Granger said when he was first informed by plans to confirm the Acting Police Commissioner, he wrote Persaud requesting answers about the promotion of two policemen who allegedly tortured a teenager several years ago during a murder probe.

The Opposition Leader said Persaud responded, advising that he direct his queries to the Police Service Commission but so far there has been no response from that constitutional body.

Granger said since then he has not been consulted about the confirmation of Persaud who has been acting top cop since April, 2014 following the retirement of Leroy Brumell. “I did not meet the President. I responded to a letter from the President and I indicated to the President that I was going to write to the Commissioner of Police about the matter but I have not been consulted,” he said.

The Opposition Leader said he was just back from the Rupununi savannas  where there was not continuous Internet connectivity.

Inspector Narine Lall and Corporal Mohanram Dulai, who were sergeant and constable respectively at the time of the burning of Twyon Thomas by setting alight his mentholated spirits-soaked genitals, were found not guilty because the lad did not appear in court to give evidence about the November 2008 incident.

However, Thomas was awarded millions of dollars in compensation for torture in a High Court civil lawsuit.