GDF Officer Cadet Amar Rajcumar
who was at the time undergoing training at Camp
Stephenson, Timehri. Christopher Harmon, 29, of
309 Parfait/Harmonie, West Bank Demerara and Kurt
Trotman, 30, of 541 Section A, Block 10, South
Sophia were charged with murdering the soldier.
Reports were that Rajcumar who had joined the GDF
a mere nine days prior to his death, collapsed
after a training session. A post-mortem
examination later found among other things that he
died from a blow to the head.
Monday, October 22, 2007
Police
continuing probe into Officer
Cadet murder
THE
Police are continuing their investigations into
the murder of Officer Cadet Amar
Rajcumar while on a
Guyana Defence Force (GDF) training programme.
This
was confirmed yesterday by Police Public Relations
Officer Mr. Ivelaw Whittaker who said that when
the probe is completed, the file will be sent to
the office of the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP)
for advice.
Rajcumar,
21, was pronounced dead at the Georgetown
Public Hospital Corporation on April 11 and a post
mortem examination revealed that his death was as
a result of a severe blow to the head. He was
cremated with full military rites earlier this
week.
The
Army set up a Board of Inquiry to investigate the
death and on Tuesday, GDF spokesman Lt. Col.
Claude Fraser said it has been completed and the
matter handed over to the Police.
GDF
Chief-of-Staff Brigadier Edward Collins, after the
findings of the post that Rajcumar
died from a blow to the head, told the Guyana
Chronicle the autopsy “has shown clearly that he
was murdered”.
“The
GDF will do everything in its power to find the
person or persons who were involved”, he said,
adding, “we will pursue this relentlessly to the
end until the perpetrators are brought to
justice.”
Commander-in-Chief
of the Armed Forces, President Bharrat Jagdeo also
vowed that those responsible for the young man’s
death will face the full force of the law.
“I
want to promise you we will get to the bottom of
this and those responsible will be punished. This
is the best we can do to give comfort at this
time,” President Jagdeo last week told the
family of the slain Officer Cadet.
GDF
Spokesman, Lt. Col. Claude Fraser last week said
the Standard Officers Course No. 39 has been
“temporarily halted”.
Fraser
also told this newspaper that the training officer
was “removed” from the course and is
“confined” at the Army base at Timehri.
The
officer is still confined, the Guyana Chronicle
understands.
After
working in the private sector, Rajcumar,
of Seafield, Leonora, West Coast Demerara, served
as a Presidential Guard in the Guyana Police Force
for two years.
However,
because the Force failed to recommend him for the
Standard Officers’ Course No. 39, even though he
was qualified, he resigned recently and applied
through the GDF.
The
Standard Officers Course No. 39, commenced on
April 3 with 35 students, including Rajcumar.
The
course began with 27 persons from the GDF, four
from the GPF, one from the Guyana Prison Service
(GPS), one from the Guyana Fire Service (GFS) and
two from the Belize Defence Force (BDF).
Rajcumar
leaves to mourn his mother, father Lakeram Rajcumar,
sister Parbatie and relatives and friends.
