CJ warrant man gets UK course from PM’s Office

ONE of the chief investigators in the “attempting to pervert the course of justice” charge against Chief Justice Sat Sharma has been offered a three-week course entitled “Corruption in Government” at a Police Academy in the United Kingdom.

Reports circulating in the Police Service claim that correspondence for the course for acting Inspector Raphael Romany of the Fraud Squad, Port of Spain came from the Office of the Prime Minister Patrick Manning at Whitehall.

The upshot of this is that concerned senior officers want to know whether it is now the practice for the Prime Minister’s Office to select police officers for foreign courses.

“The Police Administration Branch would normally call in an officer and advise him that he was selected for a course and other details of it,” one senior officer said. Romany is expected to take up the offer within the next two months, TnT Mirror was told.

Police sources in-the-know said that Commissioner of Police Trevor Paul had also rushed to approve a firearm user’s licence for Romany for his personal use and protection after the failed attempt to arrest Sharma.

Romany was the officer who was armed with the warrant to arrest the Chief Justice when seven officers, headed by Assistant Commissioner of Police (Crime) Clive “Clothes” Reyes, went to the Maraval, Port of Spain home of Sharma on Friday, July 14, on the controversial mission.

High Court Judge Judith Jones blocked the CJ’s arrest and the police were forced to leave.

The investigation into the allegation made by Chief Magistrate Sherman McNicolls that the Chief Justice tried to influence his decision in the recent Integrity trial against Basdeo Panday for failing to declare his London Bank Account while he was prime minister between l995-2000, was carried out by Assistant Commissioner of Police Wellington Virgil (former head of Special Branch and Fraud Squad) and acting Inspector Romany. Virgil has since gone on pre-retirement leave.

Concerned cops want to know whether the procedure for Romany’s obtaining a firearm user’s licence was followed, since the application would have had to be sent to the Police Division where he lives.

An Inspector or Sergeant of the Police Station where the officer resides would then be assigned to carry out the necessary investigations and after submit a file to the Senior Superintendent, who would make his recommendation to the Commissioner as to whether the licence should be granted.

This could take a few weeks, Mirror was told.

One officer claimed that Romany got his firearm user’s licence without the formal procedure being followed.

Romany is also driving around in a brand new official Primera PCA, which was purchased three weeks ago.

Disgruntled officers want to know whether these benefits are accorded only to their senior colleagues who are involved in high-profile cases.

They pointed to the case of Professor Dr. Vijay Naraynsingh, who was charged with the 10-year-old murder of his wife Chandra.

Dr. Naraynsingh was charged by Assistant Superintendent Nadir Khan of the Homicide Bureau.