Georgetown: A 12-member mixed jury found a father and son guilty of beating their neighbour and relative Suresh Nandkishore called “Ravo” to death in 2015 over a land dispute at Handsome Tree Mahaica, East Coast Demerara.
Sukhdeo Dharamdat, 54, called Toney and his son, 25-year-old Eshwardat Dharamdat called ‘Bruddow’ were on trial before Justice Navindra Singh at the Demerara High Court.
The father was found guilty for the capital offence of murder and his son was found guilty of manslaughter.
Sentencing for the Dharamdats was deferred to May 7, 2019, to facilitate a probation report.
According to reports, on the day in question, the now dead man, his father Bhopaul Nandkishore, and brother Parmanand were in the process of erecting a fence on a plot of land when a heated argument erupted between them and the Dharamdats.
Both parties are relatives but were not on speaking terms due to a land dispute.
The Dharamdats reportedly picked up two of the posts that were meant for the fence and began lashing Nandkishores about their bodies.
Ravo had reportedly tried to walk away but was cornered and dealt several lashes to his head, causing his death.
The father and son were represented by Attorneys-at-law Pamela DaSantos, Brandon DaSantos and Alanna Lall while the State was represented by prosecutors Tuanna Hardy, Abigail Gibbs and Teriq Mohammed.
During the trial, the deceased brother, Parmanand Nandkishore, who is the prosecution’s star witness, told the court that at about 11:30h on February 3, 2015, his father Bhopaul Nandkishore and his now dead brother had asked him to assist them in repairing a fence on their plot of land in the backdam at Mahaica.
He told the jury that about 15 minutes after arriving at the land by boat, the older Dharamdat [Sukhdeo] approached his father, inquiring about what they were doing, after which he left. He told the court that after another 15 minutes’ interval, the said accused along with his two sons returned, this time armed with cutlasses, shortly after which an argument ensued.
The court heard that when the three victims decided to leave the land, the older Dharamdat attacked the deceased, pushing him to the ground, where he dealt him a blow to the head using a piece of wood. The older Nandkishore went to his son’s rescue, but was also hit in the head by the younger Dharamdat [Eshwardat] and fell into a nearby trench. Meanwhile, Parmanand, who witnessed the attack on his family members, was dealt several cuffs, chops and lashes about his body with a cutlass and a piece of wood by all three of the Dharamdats, during which he pretended to be dead so the attackers would leave.
The court was further informed that after the three attackers left, Parmanand left his father and brother behind as he managed to escape and seek help.
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