John Dziwornu, before he died.
THE FAMILY members of a businessman have accused two police officers from the New York Police Station near Ashaiman in the Greater Accra Region of killing their relative, John Dziwornu.
According to the family, last Friday, two police officers from the New York Police Station, together with two well-built men and a business partner of the deceased, Apostle Elvis Tandoh, allegedly assaulted the 47-year-old businessman at a guest house at Atadeka in the Kpone-Katamansu District of Accra.
They are calling on the Inspector General of Police (IGP), David Apeatu, to immediately initiate a probe into the incident and ensure the two police officers and the businessman are brought to face the law.
Speaking with DAILY GUIDE, the elderly brother of the deceased, Joseph Dziwornu, explained that the deceased was at home on Friday when he received a call from his business partner, asking John to meet him at the guest house which was few metres away from the house of the deceased.
“Eye witnesses at the scene told us that they heard some wranglings at the hotel reception but since it was locked they could not enter. Moments later they saw a man (my brother) rushed out of the hotel but was chased by some two police personnel accompanied by the owner of the hotel and two other macho men who shouted ‘juloree! juloree!!’, meaning ‘thief! thief!!’
“He was later arrested and beaten until he became unconscious. So at this point one of my nephews called Atsu got to the scene,” he briefly narrated.
A witness who doubles as the uncle of the deceased stated that he called the apostle over a private issue when the apostle told him about his intention to arrest the deceased.
He continued, “So I asked him to hold on and that I was on my way. When I got there I realized my uncle was dead. I noticed he had some bruises and a swell on his neck and blood oozing from his mouth with saliva which suggested to me that he might have been beaten.”
“When I complained to the police that my uncle was dead, one of the police officer called Michael told me John was only pretending to be dead, insisting he would gain consciousness when we got to the police station.
“John was sent to the Ashaiman New York Police Station where he was given water but remained unconscious. Later, he was rushed to the hospital but his condition remained the same.”
The business partner of the deceased who effected the arrest said, “I only invited the police to effect the arrest of John who owed me some amount of cash and acres of land. So if anything has gone wrong in the process of his arrest, the police are the best people to provide an answer.”
However, all attempts to get the area police to speak on the issue were unsuccessful.
From Vincent Kubi, New York