Now that the case against him has been thrown out by Whim Magistrate, Renita Singh, due to the lack of evidence, Marcus Bisram has instructed his lawyer, Sanjeev Datadin to initiate proceedings to sue the State for the excessive tactics it used to wrongfully charge him for the gruesome death of Faiyaz Narinedatt.
Confirming this with Guyana Standard today was Datadin who noted that his client was released following the ruling by Magistrate Singh at 13:00 hrs today. Datadin said that the Magistrate upheld the no case submission he had made and ruled that there was not sufficient evidence for a charge or a conviction of murder against Bisram. He further noted that one of the State’s witnesses, Chaman Chunilall, also known as “Cake” clearly stated that he did not hear or see Bisram do anything but that the police and the State Prosecutor had pressured him to say he was aware Bisram committed the act.
Datadin said, “The core of the case was what the court heard which is that Chunilall said he heard that Bisram killed the guy but in cross examination he said he only said that because he was pressured to do so and this came out in the Preliminary Inquiry and the Magistrate referred to it in her judgment.”
The lawyer added, “I do feel vindicated by this judgment because this is the third time that this witness has said that the Prosecutor, Stacy Goodings and that members of the police force told him what to say and pressured him to give evidence against Bisram. Another witness named Sadam said that they pressured him to say certain things too.”
Datadin said he has been saying for quite sometime that the State had no case against his client. Datadin said he is appalled that the State would even continue with the matter although their witnesses recanted their stories several times during cross examination. The lawyer said that the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) Shalimar Ali-Hack ought to explain why she insisted with proceeding with a trial which caused his client to be locked up for over three years.
It was alleged that between 31 October, 2016 and 1 November, 2016, Bisram coerced, procured and commanded five persons to murder Narinedatt.
The murder charge that was brought against Marcus Bisram was thrown out by Whim Magistrate, Renita Sngh after the State failed to provide compelling evidence that he was indeed responsible for the gruesome death of Faiyaz Narinedatt. It was alleged that between 31 October, 2016 and 1 November, 2016, Bisram coerced, procured and commanded five persons to murder Narinedatt.
The controversial case had several twists and turns which included accusations of interference with key witnesses and even unjustified delays by the State. While the matter has been thrown out on the grounds of lack of evidence, it does not mean Bisram is actually a free man. He can still be charged again should the Office of the Director of Prosecutions find new grounds or reasonable evidence for same.
Bisram was charged on November 21, 2019 hours after arriving in Guyana from the USA and was not required to plead to the indictable charge.
Details of the case noted that Narinedatt was beaten to death by a group of Bisram’s friends when he allegedly slapped the US-based Guyanese who kissed him in the dark at a party Bisram held in November, 2016 at Number 72 Village, Upper Corentyne.
The carpenter’s body was then pushed into the trunk of a car, taken to the Berbice public road, dumped and run over to make it appear as if it was a hit-and-run.
The gruesome killing of the father of two was reportedly ordered by Bisram, who flew to the US soon after.
At the time of Narinedatt’s murder, the police in Berbice treated his death as a road accident since Bisram was a close friend to the senior lawmen in that community, contributing significantly to a number of stations in that Division. He was even recognized by the police for his contributions.
It was only after the dead man’s family met with the then Crime Chief, Wendell Blanhum in Georgetown and begged for ranks from the Major Crimes Unit to intervene, then a thorough investigation was done.
In fact, from the inception, there was someone at the party who had witnessed everything. It was this person that led investigators to question five of Bisram’s friends and later resulted in confessions.
The men have all been charged. They are Orlando Dickie, Radesh Motie, Diodath Datt, Harri Paul Parsram, and Niran Yacoob. The accused have all identified Bisram as the mastermind in the murder.
In July 2017, Bisram was arrested in the US where he made countless efforts to fight the extradition, arguing that there is no extradition law between Guyana and the US, but lawyers for the US government contended that a longstanding agreement between that country and Britain which had ruled Guyana up to the 60s, was still valid.
