Calls for thorough investigation into Deyalsingh robbery

Anna-Lisa Paul

Seniro Reporter

anna-lisa.paul@guardian.co.tt

Criminal Bar Association president Israel Khan, SC, said yesterday that the robbery at gunpoint of Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh should send a clear message to him (Deyalsingh) that “crime has come home to him if not the entire Cabinet, as it has to the entire country.”

“It appears that Deyalsingh was of the view that he was exempted from such an atrocity on the ground, that he was a minister of Government or that he is a well-known personality in St Joseph—if not the entire country,” Khan said in a statement.

Noting that the gold bera Deyalsingh was wearing in broad daylight was worth at least $35,000, he asked: “Why would he be openly showing-off such a bracelet?

“He foolishly believes that as a minister of Government the criminals would not dare touch him with their crimes. He believes, as many other members of Cabinet, that they are untouchable.

“Both Fitzgerald Hinds and Keith Scotland wear similar bracelets. So I say to them, watch out my friends, the chickens have come home to roost.”

Khan wondered if, as a result of the incident, “Deyalsingh would now insist that the chairman of National Security Council, Dr Keith Rowley, and the two ministers in charge of National Security, namely Fitzgerald Hinds and Keith Scotland, devise workable policy and plans to stem the unprecedented violent crimes in the country.”

Also weighing in on the incident was the First Wave Movement. The group called for a thorough investigation into the “suspicious circumstances” in which Deyalsingh was robbed.

Founder Umar Abdullah said the public has been left with “far more questions than answers.”

“What is being presented to the public as a simple robbery appears to be a carefully orchestrated event to advance a dangerous agenda: the declaration of crime as a public health emergency,” he said in a statement, pointing to what he claimed were glaring inconsistencies and the suspicious setting in which the robbery occurred.

Deyalsingh, 66, was seated outside Nyabinghi Bar, at the corner of Abercromby and King Streets, St Joseph, when he was robbed.

Abdullah asked: “Why was the Minister so comfortable in such a setting which itself seems to flaunt the law?”

Pointing to the absence of the minister’s security detail, he added: “Is it not strange that a minister, who supposedly fears for his life enough to monitor citizens, would be without security in a high-risk area?”

Noting that the robbers took only the gold bracelet and left Deyalsingh’s phone, wallet, wedding ring, and watch untouched, Abdullah said: “This selective robbery defies logic and raises suspicion that it was staged to create a specific narrative.”

Political and social activist Ravi Balgobin Maharaj said he was thankful that Deyalsingh had walked away unharmed and the police had been able to apprehend two suspects within hours.

“I also wish that this type of response was the norm for the protective services, and not reserved for when crimes are perpetrated against ministers and their families alone,” he said.

“At the end of the day, when crime is perpetrated against ordinary civilians, they do not have the benefit of having someone on speed dial who might be able to remedy the situation.”

Maharaj said the incident exposed the ruling administration’s attitude towards crime as it affected citizens and the difference in approach by the police when Government was directly affected.

“Until the Government starts taking affirmative action in dealing with these criminals, absolutely no one in this country is safe,” he said.

The post Calls for thorough investigation into Deyalsingh robbery first appeared on CNC3.