Pandit rejects police claims that he touched girl who later committed suicide

Last Updated on Monday, 24 February 2020, 11:55 by Writer

Attorney-at-Law, Sanjeev Datadin is denying that the police ever questioned a West Demerara Hindu pandit about touching a 13-year-old girl who subsequently committed suicide.

“At no stage what was put to him was that he touched the girl anywhere on her body,” Datadin told News-Talk Radio Guyana 103.1 FM/Demerara Waves Online News. Datadin stressed that the Pandit had “no physical contact at all” with the girl. “Nobody has ever accused him of touching the girl in anyway or form,” he said.

The lawyer is bluntly disputing assertions by Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara) Commander, Assistant Commissioner Simon McBean that the pandit was being accused of “inappropriate touching of hands” between October 2019 and January, 2020. The accused has since been placed on GYD$150,000 station bail as police continue their investigations.

Datadin, who represents the Hindu priest, said police investigators instead grilled his client about text messages, but no message or number was ever found in the accused man’s phone. saying that his client cooperated fully with investigators, the lawyer said and the man “made available his phone and no number or text was in his phone.”

Datadin believed that the issue has become politicised by top government politicians, who were seen visiting the girl’s home, because the pandit is a candidate for the opposition People’s Progressive Party (PPP).

The Attorney-at-Law was unaware whether police received a statement from the girl before she committed suicide on Saturday last accusing the pandit of touching her.

Datadin, who is also a PPP candidate, blamed the incumbent A Partnership for National Unity+Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) of being at the centre of the issue, believing that it would embarrass his party but instead it eventually led to the girl’s demise. “It is a politicisation of the whole incident. These are the things that put pressure on people and that is what caused this tragedy,” said Datadin.

The Divisional Police Commander said investigators would try to determine whether there was any link between the alleged sexual offence and the girl’s suicide.