HGP NIGHTLY NEWS: Was the controversial Kitty encounter involving Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed planned in advance? Former Assistant Police Commissioner Paul Slowe says several details have raised his suspicions, from Prem Narine being fully dressed around midnight to what he describes as the “alarming haste” with which senior police officers arrived afterward.
Slowe is questioning whether the controversial October 12 encounter involving Opposition Leader Azruddin Mohamed was planned in advance, pointing to what he considers unusual circumstances before and after the gunfire outside Senior Superintendent Prem Narine’s Kitty residence.
Slowe has focused attention on Narine’s appearance around midnight, the speed with which senior police officers reportedly arrived at the Kitty Police Station and the sequence of events captured around the area.
“But the man seemed to have been fully dressed,” Slowe said while questioning Narine’s appearance at that hour.
He also described the arrival of senior officers as occurring “with alarming haste” and questioned whether anyone had prior knowledge that an incident was about to unfold.
In subsequent commentary, Slowe scrutinised footage involving a parked pickup and the black car carrying Mohamed and his associates.
He calculated approximately 22 seconds between the vehicle passing the pickup for a second time and a man entering the pickup, apparently to pursue the car. Slowe questioned whether that sequence was consistent with an immediate reaction to an apparent gunshot.
He also raised fresh questions about the firearm police say was discovered beneath the accelerator of Mohamed’s vehicle, pointing to defence claims that earlier searches had failed to uncover a weapon.
Slowe suggested the encounter may have been arranged to generate criminal charges against Mohamed and potentially affect his liberty, but was careful to qualify his theory, stating, “I could be wrong.”
At the same time, the former senior police officer criticised Mohamed’s own actions, describing his decision to be near Narine’s home late at night as reckless given Narine’s role as a witness in the ongoing extradition proceedings.
Police maintain that Narine heard what appeared to be a gunshot as Mohamed’s vehicle passed his Barr Street residence and subsequently discharged his service weapon towards the car. Police also say a firearm and ammunition were later recovered.
Mohamed denies that anyone inside his vehicle fired a weapon and has alleged that the firearm was planted. Those claims remain disputed and have not been established.
Mohamed and his two associates have since been granted bail as the firearm, ammunition and obstruction case moves through the courts.
