File on cop, civilian killed in Guapo sent to DPP

THE file on the shooting death of PC Krishna Banahar, who was killed in the line of duty in an exercise in Guapo that also resulted in the death of a civilian, has been sent to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for advice.

ACP for South/Central Wayne Mystar confirmed this on November 11, saying that, as of the afternoon, the police had been given no instructions on how to proceed.

National Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds offers condolences to Arrilla Banahar, the mother of PC Krishna Banahar, at the officer’s funeral service in Fyzabad on November 9. – Photo by Lincoln Holder

Banahar, 25, of the Siparia CID, was fatally shot in an exercise at the home of the Joseph family at St Rose Steet in Gonzales, Guapo, on the outskirts of Point Fortin.

Scrap-iron dealer Al Hakim Joseph, 44, was also killed and another police officer wounded. The police said they found a Glock pistol.

Commissioner of Police Erla Harewood-Christopher, right, offers support to Arrilla Banahar, the mother of PC Krishna Banahar, at the officer’s funeral service in Fyzabad on November 9. The officer was shot dead in the line of duty on November 6 in Guapo. – Photo by Lincoln Holder

Banahar, of Mon Desir in Fyzabad, and Joseph were pronounced dead at the Point Fortin Hospital before dawn on November 6.

The police also arrested a 35-year-old relative of Joseph at the scene. Up to the afternoon of November 11, he remained in custody as investigators awaited guidance from the DPP.

Banahar was cremated on November 9. Among the mourners were Commissioner of Police Erla Harewood-Christopher, National Security Minister Fitzgerald Hinds, Mystar, and head of the South Western Division Supt Edmund Cumberbatch.

Police officers carry the casket of their murdered colleague, PC Krishna Banahar, at his funeral service in Fyzabad on November 9. – Photo by Lincoln Holder

Hours after the tragedy, the top cop, in a media statement, said the incident reinforces the very real threat that police face every day when they leave their families and report for duty to protect and serve the nation.

She added they serve courageously to ensure the public’s safety.

She said Banahar had served the police with distinction for four years.

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