Two police investigators & star witness ‘Aunty Baby’ discredited
JUSTICE William Ramlal, the trial judge in the Cane Grove murder retrial yesterday castigated two police officers , Corporals Mentore & Semple, and Star witness ‘Aunty Baby’ whose nonsensical explanations in the trial , he said, led to the accused Mohan Ram Singh being freed of murder..

The attack on the two police officers and the star witness Bissoondai Jagat called ‘Aunty Baby’ came after the judge accepted a no-case submission by defence counsel Mr. Glenn Hanoman.

Among other submissions, Mr. Hanoman submitted that the prosecution witnesses have been so discredited by cross-examination, rendering the case manifestly unreliable, therefore no reasonable jury properly directed, cannot bring in an adverse verdict to the accused.

Prosecutor Miss Sonia Joseph although admitting that the evidence contained numerous incidents of discrepancies, contradictions and untruths e was of the view that the judge had the discretion to send the case to the jury for them to decide the issue.

The judge noted that the star witness had given three different accounts of the killing of Dameshwar Mahadeo called po’ … one account to the police, another to the Magistrate at the Preliminary Inquiry and a third at the jury trial.

The judge noted that the witness testified under cross-examination that each story, though different, was true.

One of her stories was that she had seen the accused chopping Bapo on a dark night. Then she said it was not so dark.

It came out in evidence that on her first visit to Cane Grove Police Station she stated that she did not know the person who had chopped the deceased.

But when she gave a further statement at Cove & John Police she said that it was the accused who did the chopping..

Defence counsel requested the police to produce the relevant books to see whether the witness had in fact made a statement at Cane Grove. Eight books relating to other issues were requested but none of the salient books was located, the judge said.

And when the two police officers who were in charge of the investigations, were questioned they were not frank with the Court, and gave nonsensical explanations the judge declared..

The canecutter accused attired in a black pants, white shirt and dark tie was told by the judge that he was free to leave because of the tardiness of the evidence of the prosecution. But according to the judge, if you did kill this man you will have to live with your conscience the rest of your life.

The judge said that the time had come when the public must be told the cause why some people go free of certain crimes. In this case it was because of improper investigations.

The judge noted too that material evidence was suppressed by the investigators while they pursue improper and incomplete investigations for reasons best known to them.