Iron gate

Haniff, also called 'Spoon', 48, was a cane harvester at GUYSUCO's Albion Estate. According to his wife, Bibi Zaffora Haniff, her husband along with her son Wahid Haniff had left their Factory Road home, Albion, at 6 pm on Monday to collect an iron gate from a fitter machinist at Fyrish, another Corentyne location, which is about a mile from their home.

''He opted to go with a bicycle, instead of a vehicle, as the roads were blocked with the protestors'', she said. With tears streaming down her face, the mother of three, recalled receiving the sad news of her husband's demise at 7.30 pm from a neighbour. ''I was waiting on his return, as we had repaired the fence, which was originally picket, (now chain-linked), and the wooden gate was to be replaced by the metal one when someone called for my son. "I told the person he went out with his father". The wife of twenty- four years, stated she could not recall who was the news bearer, but was in a state of shock and disbelief at the revelation. ''I was shocked on hearing that my husband was dead, I could not believe it was true. My husband was an ardent Hindu, he never drank. He was not involved in the protest", she lamented. In the meantime, the still shaken Wahid, related that his father was ahead of him as they journeyed to Fyrish. ''I went into a nearby shop to purchase chewing gum (which he displayed from his pocket) and my father was in front of me. On approaching the Albion Police Station, I heard several shots being fired during which time the crowd was scattered. A friend told me that my father was shot, but I disbelieved him. It was when I saw a car drove past me, that I felt that my dad was in there. I later went to the Port Mourant Hospital Mortuary, where I saw my father's body with several wounds apparently from gunshots/pellets on the left upper torso", the eldest child recalled.

Haniff, the lone breadwinner of the home, has left to mourn his wife, along with their three children, Nazina, 13, Bibi, 23, and Wahid, 24. The family is awaiting the post-mortem results prior to burial.

Bricks

The police have said that at about 6.30 pm on Monday, protestors began stoning the Albion Police Station with bricks which were concealed in drums and throwing bottle bombs which shattered the windows in the process and scorched the outer walls of the station causing the cops to run for cover. Tyres were set ablaze on the main thoroughfare in Albion as the protesters called for the immediate resignation of Home Affairs Minister Gajraj.

It was during that attack that the police opened fire and Haniff was killed. `B' Division Commander Paul Slowe told Stabroek News that three protestors were hit by pellets and treated at the Port Mourant Hospital and sent away. Slowe said that the police succeeded in clearing the area at about 7.30 pm after reinforcements were dispatched. He said he was also stoned by the protestors at around 7 pm outside the police station.

Gajraj had to be accommodated at the home of an Albion family after he was stoned by protesters following a meeting with residents at the Albion Community Centre on Monday night. He had travelled to the area since Saturday for meetings with residents on their grievances over the crime rate.

Prolific

Even while the cops were assessing the damage to their building, the prolific bandits were attempting to gain entry to the home of Melvin Manbodh, at Lot E, Albion Front, about a stone's throw aback the Albion Police Station. According to Manbodh, he had just left the bathroom on the upper flat of his two-flat building, when he was alerted that something was amiss. ''I noticed that someone was trying to prise the window up, I screamed, alerting other members of my household, who were on the lower flat watching television". The shaken young man recalled locating the others in the home and noticed that a shirtless person was attempting to gain access through another window on the lower flat. The neighbours were warned and the vigilante group in the area returned causing the bandits to escape. It was related that when members of the Police Tactical Services Unit arrived about ten minutes after the incident they claimed that it was a false alarm and requested that the members of the policing group go and arrest the bandits. Manbodh related that a silver wagon was noticed in the street under a mango tree about 10 yards from his home earlier in the evening. He claimed that four persons were noticed within the vehicle which took off its lights and later left the area with the driver alone. The protest which is in its fifth day stems from what is described as the police's lackadaisical attitude in apprehending bandits who commit violent robberies on Corentyne families.

Sun goes down

Earlier yesterday, large groupings converged at Rose Hall, proceeding east to Port Mourant in the vicinity of the hospital where they stormed the gate of the health institution requesting to see the injured and the dead person.

Reports had swept the area of people being shot and injured

creating further confusion. Some of the crowd of about 1,000 wore cardboard armbands identifing themselves as picketers while other bore placards stating ''Give us guns'', ''Out with Gajraj'', ''If Bharrat can't help, Ravi will'', and ''businessmen want guns for protection''. Police supported by ranks of the Central Station in full battle gear stood nearby assessing the movements of the protesters. Spokesman for the protesters Dalip Singh, a businessman, stated that the demonstration is not politically or racially motivated, but is a protest against crime. "We are living in fear. It's dreaded when the sun goes down. We wonder who would be the next victim. We need police protection. Many times you are told that there are limited police on duty at the station, but yet they can be seen drinking in their uniforms at nearby liquor restaurants.'' He rebutted remarks made by the authorities that they threw bottle bombs at the police station.

Tense

Despite light rainfall at midday, the crowd grew larger, dividing into different groups based on the issues they needed to address. Some complained of being assaulted by the law officers as they traversed the public road peacefully while others displayed evidence of pellet shots about their bodies. One of them, Sixteen- year-old Tameshwar Singh, a student of the Lower Corentyne Secondary School reported that he was returning home from lessons at Chester Front when he was shot after police opened fire on Monday evening.

Slowe described the situation yesterday as "tense" and called on the protestors to "let good sense prevail". Echoing the views of some observers, the `B' Division Commander said that the police had exercised "tremendous restraint in dealing with Monday's protest".

The demonstration on Monday outside the police station had started peacefully but escalated into violence later in the day. Among those caught in the violence was New Amsterdam Magistrate Krishendat Persaud. His vehicle was prevented from proceeding on the road and he was forced out of the vehicle and assaulted before making his way into the police station. Later his car was pushed into a nearby trench and as the protest intensified it was set on fire.