–in rice field rental dispute
DEONAUTH Deosaran and Pradeep Persaud appeared recently before New Amsterdam Magistrate Sherdel Isaacs-Marcus, charged with unlawfully assaulting prominent Berbice Gynaecologist, Dr Narine Datt Sooknanan.The duo denied the charge, and was ordered to post $10,000 bail each before returning to court on December 12 for trial.
The incident allegedly stemmed from a broken tenancy agreement between the 73-year-old Dr. Sooknanan and Dennis De Roop, a rice farmer of Kilmarnock Village, Corentyne. Dr Sooknanan had rented a hundred acres of transported rice lands to De Roop for a five-year period ending 2015. De Roop had agreed to pay $1.2M per year, but ended up renting the same lands to the defendants, who in turn were expected to pay $5M per year.
Dr Sooknanan was informed of the new development, and accompanied by his son Michael, had gone to his rice lands at Borlam Village, Corentyne and had released the water from the rice fields.
Moments after, the Sooknanans saw the headlamps of a tractor approaching, from which the defendants, who were armed with cutlasses, disembarked. They allegedly used a series of expletives and began assaulting the doctor, causing him to receive injuries.
The matter was subsequently reported to the police, and a joint charge was instituted against the defendants.