By Stephen K. Effah
Tuesday, 29 April 2008
THE Dansoman Police say that a family member of the 72-year-old pensioner who was murdered on February 29 at his Dansoman Estate residence, is leaking information to the prime suspect, Emmanuel Ayeh Asare, alias K.B.
However, a family spokesperson denies this.
The District Commander, Superintendant Alex Yartey Tawiah, told the Times yesterday that a member of the family, whose name the police are withholding, was the person who gave money to the prime suspect, "K.B." step-grandson of the late Emmanuel Kwasi Ayeh, to escape.
According to him, a police intelligence report has revealed that "the prime suspect has been communicating with a member of the family who gave him money to abscond," noting that some members of the family are quiet on the issue.
Supt. Tawiah said the police are to invite that family member for interrogation.
Meanwhile, he has denied allegations levelled against his outfit in a petition to the Inspector General of Police by the family.
He expressed surprise at the action by the family but said "this won’t stop us from doing our work."Two weeks ago, the family petitioned the IGP to, among other things, reprimand and take over investigations of the murder case from the Dansoman Police Command in view of the unprofessional manner in which it had handled the case so far.
The family is also asking the IGP to compel the Dansoman Police to ensure the refund of the GH¢466 that Nana Sei managed to extort from them between March 6 and March 23, under the pretext of using it to facilitate investigations, as they got to know Nana Sei through them.
But Supt.Tawiah maintained that his outfit never introduced Nana Sei Kwadwo, the imposter, to any member of the family as a police officer detailed to handle the case as the family members suggested in the petition.
He said that Nana Sei, who has been parading as a police officer and extorting money from unsuspecting people, got to know about the murder case and the family members when he met them at the police station where he had a case pending against him.
The Commander said that he was surprised that the family members did not inform him when they gave Nana Sei a car and money to facilitate investigations to arrest the prime suspect.
He told the Times that investigations into the matter are ongoing and his outfit would not allow the allegations to disturb them, saying "ours is to get to the bottom of the matter by bringing the perpetrators to book."
He said he is yet to receive a response from the IGP regarding the allegations against his outfit. He therefore urged the family members to cooperate with the police and appealed to the public who may have information on the whereabouts of K.B to report to the nearest police station.
However, when contacted, Mrs Joyce Umanta, daughter of the deceased, denied the allegation by the Commander, saying that on March 6, when her mother and brother were picked up by the police for interrogation, Nana Sei asserted that her mother had given money to K.B. to escape but her mother denied it.
Mrs.Umanta said, "I called Nana Sei to ask him about it and he told me that it was my sister-in-law who told him that," but when she later called her sister-in-law, she denied having told Nana Sei anything.
Mrs Umanta said she then phoned Nana Sei about it, but he could not defend his claim and he "brushed over it and said she is lying."
Mrs. Umanta explained that her mother has been at home since the murder case, and was not even on phone at that time, "so I asked Nana Sei, how did my mother gave K.B money to escape?"
On whether the family has received a response to their petition to the IGP, she said, they were invited to the Police Headquarters last Thursday where their statement was taken.
She said that the family and the Dansoman Police were supposed to have met the police officer handling the petition at the Police Headquarters yesterday but the Dansoman Police did not turn up, and the meeting was postponed.
She said the officer told her that another meeting will be arranged between the family and the Dansoman Police at the Police Headquarters.
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