Former AG feels vindicated of Crum-Ewing alleged murder connection, slams media for sensational reporting

Last Updated on Saturday, 1 August 2015, 20:07 by GxMedia

Former Attorney General Anil Nandlall.

by Zena Henry

Former Attorney General Anil Nandlall feels vindicated of his connection to Rajput Narine, his former body guard who was arrested as a part of a probe into the killing of political activist Courtney Crum-Ewing.

Crum-Ewing had made it his personal quest to speak out and demonstrate against the former AG who made statements against the Kaieteur Newspaper, believed by some to be tantamount to violent threats.

Days on end Crum-Ewing, with his placard, picketed the former AG’s officer calling for his resignation. Weeks before polling day on May 11, the former Guyana Defence Force (GDF) officer  was gunned down while using his loudhailer to encourage people to go out and vote for the coalition.

Last week, Rajput Narine, was arrested by the police who said he was wanted for questioning in connection with Crum-Ewing’s murder. Eyes quickly turned to the “embattled” former minister, who immediately called a press conference to clear his name.

However, Nandlall is of the view that the media engaged in sensational reporting on the matter, especially since Narine was released hours after being detained. Using his Facebook page to air his opinion, the former minister wrote Friday July 31, that the matter brought “public pandemonium among the media fraternity in Guyana.”

In a paragraph titled ‘exculpatory’ he said, “As it turned out, it appears to be much ado about nothing. I subsequently learnt that Rajput Narine was released after 72 hours in Police custody. His arrest hardly had anything to do with Courtney Crum-Ewing. It was in relation to an attempt by a known person in the criminal underworld in Police custody trying to implicate him in another incident, wholly unrelated to Crum-Ewing,” he explained.

“Significantly,” he continued, “the same media outfits that were so excited and carried blazing headlines regarding his arrest with my name, prominently featured, did not see it fit to report his release from Police custody.”

He said only one newspaper and television newscast reported that Narine confirmed being hired by the former AG after Crum-Ewing’s death, and that they had not known each other prior; until Narine’s New York-based brother facilitated the link up.

“I presume that because these facts are exculpatory of me, they are not reported in the other media houses and are certainly not even mentioned by my foes in the Social Media,” he said.

On another matter, the former AG also weighed in on self-confessed ‘death squad’ member Sean Hinds being represented by Alliance for Change (AFC) arm chairman. Nigel Hughes. He also weighed in on AFC member, First Vice President and Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo’s statement that Hinds was on a recce of his home and an “automobile belonging to Nandlall” was seen driving past.