A Youth was fatally shot and five police officers were injured during protests. Guyanese newspapers are reporting that 19-year-old Devon Hansraj (@ left in photo) died from a single gunshot injury when police officers opened fire on a protest at Cotton Tree Village in West Coast Berbice on Friday.

The protestors had attacked the cops by throwing glass bottles at them. The police responded with gunshots. The five police ranks who were injured were dispatched to the West Berbice area after supporters of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP) took to the streets resulting in a massive riot. A Sergeant, Punit Nuth Ibaran, ( @ right in photo)suffered the most injuries: broken arms, injuries to his head and an ear, and bruises about his body when he was beaten by the protestors with pieces of wood and metal.

The parents of, Devon Hansraj are calling for justice to be served for the death of their son whom they claimed was innocently “murdered” by ranks of the Guyana Police Force. The police claim that Hansraj attacked the officers while they were executing their duties on the Cotton Tree Public Road.

Guyana’s High Court will sit tomorrow to hear arguments in the case filed against the Guyana Elections Commission (GECOM) over the verification of vote counts for Region Four. And Trinidadian attorney Douglas Mendes will be on the frontline representing the applicant, Reaz Hollader, whose name is filed in the matter brought by the opposition PPP/Civic.

During an emergency sitting over the weekend, Acting Chief Justice Roxane George-Wiltshire declared that the court can exercise supervisory jurisdiction outside the election petition after GECOM contended that the matters raised in the High Court injunction should have been raised via an election petition. The Chief Justice will decide whether to direct the Returning Officer for Region Four, Clairmont Mingo, to return to the verification process he started in the presence of  International Election Observers and which was stopped.

The High Court injunction is among other things, seeking to restrain officials from declaring the result of the elections and for preventing  David Granger from being sworn as President for a second term on the grounds of electoral fraud. The oral application for judicial review was made on Thursday at the High Court.

In light of the tension in Guyana, the Hindu Dharmic Sabha the largest Hindu organization in Guyana has cancelled their annual  Phagwah Day celebrations. The Dharmic Sahba is the second religious body to cancel. Over 100 mandirs across the country will not be celebrating the festival.