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Dulalchan vows to sue PCA over JSC comments

Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Deodat Dulalchan is threatening to sue the Police Complaints Authority (PCA) over its recommendation that disciplinary charges be brought against him over a complaint made to it in 2011.

In a letter sent to PCA director David West on Tuesday, Dulalchan’s lawyer Kiel Taklalsingh called on the authority to retract its recommendation to the Police Service Commission (PSC) based on issues with the investigative process used by the authority.

Taklalsingh also questioned why the PCA took almost six years before completing its investigation.

“Curiously, despite the antiquity of this incident, your purported investigation found renewed vigour and sudden alacrity subsequent to the commencement of the recruitment process for the post of Commissioner of Police,” Taklalsingh said.

He noted that his client, the PSC’s top pick for the post, was only informed of the investigation and asked to provide a report in September last year.

“The clandestine nature of your investigation is further exacerbated by the fact that you exercised your statutory discretion in an oppressive, high-handed and malfeasant manner by refusing to convene a hearing which would have afforded my client the opportunity to rebut and debunk any allegations that may have surfaced against him,” Taklalsingh said.

He also alleged that the PCA had breached its statutory duty of confidence when it decided to speak about the investigation when its officials attended a Special Select Committee of Parliament inquiring into the recruitment process for the top two positions in the T&T Police Service (TTPS) last Monday.

“We trust that, having participated in a forum in a manner which could materially and negatively affect my client’s chances of being selected as Commissioner of Police, you are now prepared to properly inform my client of the aforementioned matters in a fair, transparent and expeditious manner,” he said.

While he admitted that litigation was a last resort for his client, Taklalsingh said he would file a judicial review claim against the PCA if it does not accede to his requests.

In addition to seeking information about the PCA’s investigation, Dulalchan is seeking an unreserved apology from the PCA over its handling of the issue. Taklalsingh did not give a time frame for a response.

Appearing at a subsequent hearing of the parliamentary committee on Tuesday, former PSC chairman Dr Maria Gomes and member Dinanath Ramkissoon claimed the PCA did not make the recommendation until late last year. Both also claimed the PCA’s initial correspondence on the complaint, sent in 2012, contained a legal opinion by a in-house attorney, who recommended that the investigation be discontinued.

During that hearing, committee member Dr Roodal Moonilal questioned the PCA’s protracted investigation as he suggested there may have been a conspiracy to prevent Dulalchan from getting the job of Police Commissioner.

Dulalchan has also been the subject of land grabbing allegations over a parcel of agricultural land at Chatoorie Street Extension, Felicity. Four farmers claimed they were displaced by Dulalchan before he was granted permission to occupy the land last year.