Men freed of murder charges; were accused of paying junkie to set fire that killed girls, father
After being behind bars for over four years on three counts of murder, 74-year-old businessman Ganga Krishna and his 26-year-old employee Avishkar Bissoon, walked out of the Demerara High Court Tuesday, after they were freed of the charges. Krishna and his employee were accused of paying a “junkie” to set fire to a house which killed two young girls and their father.
Krishna also known as ‘Buddie’ and ‘Scientist’ formerly of North Road, Bourda, Georgetown and Bissoon, who resided at Sheriff Street, Campbellville, were freed by Justice Brassington Reynolds following a no-case submission put forward by their attorneys Latchmie Rahamat and Dexter Todd.
On October 5, the trial against the two men restarted after being aborted on two occasions.
The two men were trial for the November 17, 2014 murder of 14-year-old Clarissa Rozario and her 11-year-old sister Tressa Rozario. The two sisters were killed when a fire was reportedly set to their home at Lot 65 King and Robb Street, Georgetown.
The men were also later charged for the murder of 63-year-old Hilrod Attlee Thomas who died on December 21, 2014, from injuries he sustained during the fire.
After the State closed its case, the attorneys submitted that the defence had no case to answer. The attorneys contended that the prosecutor failed to establish a case against their clients.
Justice Reynolds agreed with the submissions of the defence and directed the jury to return a formal verdict of not guilty and acquitted the men.
In 2016, Krishna and Bissoon were arrested by the police after a drug addict reportedly confessed that he was offered money to set fire to the disputed building.
Police believe that the building was torched to drive out individuals who were also claiming ownership of the property by prescriptive rights.
Krishna was allegedly the mastermind behind the crimes.
The two sisters, who were reportedly asleep, were trapped in the early-morning inferno; their father had managed to jump through a window to escape the fire and sustained second and third-degree burns but later died from his injuries at the Georgetown Public Hospital.
