Case file on Haresh Singh murder not missing – Crime Chief

Crime Chief, Senior Superintendent Wendell Blanhum on Tuesday rebuffed reports that the case file on the investigations into the murder of 17-year-old Haresh Singh is missing.

“At no time whatsoever was the file missing,” the Crime Chief was quoted as saying in a statement issued by Police Headquarters.

According to the statement, the Crime Chief said the investigators were in possession of the crime file doing some additional work.

“The said file was later handed over to the [Junior] Police Legal Advisor, Mr. Mandel Moore who is now prosecuting the matter,” the Crime Chief further noted.

According to the Crime Chief, this is not a strange occurrence. He noted that on a daily basis, in the criminal court, once a file is being completed by the investigators, it remains in the possession of the investigators.

“When it is completed it is then forwarded to the court prosecutor for court presentation,” the statement concluded.

On June 29, four persons were charged with the September 2020 murder of Singh.

Those charged are 29-year-old Philip Anderson called ‘Ratman’ of #3 Village, West Coast Berbice; 27-year-old Joel Gittins called ‘Bolo’ of Jangotown, East Coast Demerara; 27-year-old Glaston Henry called ‘Gladwin Henry’ and ‘Soldierman’ of #3 Village, West Coast Berbice and 21-year-old Charles Scott called ‘Bucko’ of Jarvis Street Rosignol, Berbice.

The charges were instituted on the advice of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) some nine months after Singh’s 12-year-old brother found him murdered,

Singh of Number 3 Village, West Coast Berbice, was found in a bloodied state on September 9, 2020, in the backdam. His motorcycle was also found torched.

A post mortem examination revealed that he died from brain hemorrhage and blunt trauma to the head, compounded by compression injuries to the neck.

He was killed in the height of heated protests over the deaths of two teens –  Isaiah and Joel Henry; they too were brutally murdered the weekend prior in the backlands.

Haresh’s grandfather and two of his uncles were arrested in relation to the murder of the Henry teens. They were later released with no evidence found to tie them to the crime.  His death has always been regarded as retaliation for the murder of the Henry boys.