I have the honour to refer to the article under caption ?Abusif? appearing in ?l?express? daily in its issue of Tuesday 5th October 2004?

Having taken note of the concerns expressed therein, I wish to assure your readers and the public at large that all arrests referred to in the article, were effected upon reasonable suspicion of the arrested persons having committed a criminal offence in conformity with Section 5 of the Constitution. Moreover, a provisional charge was duly laid before the appropriate court against each and every party concerned, thereby bringing these arrests under the control of the courts.

Furthermore, in conformity with their constitutional right to liberty, the suspects were released on bail on the very day on which they were brought to court.

This being said, it is open to any person aggrieved by his arrest to have recourse to the courts for redress. In fact, in the article, reference is made to an attorney claiming damages from his accusers for malicious allegations. The Police, likewise is amenable to judicial action for illegal or arbitrary arrests. However, the Police has reason to believe that, in the course of any such judicial proceedings, it will, as far as the Police is concerned, be in a position to put sufficient facts before the courts to establish the existence of a reasonable suspicion of the commission of a criminal offence in each and every of those cases.

I trust that the above will assist the public in better understanding the legal basis on which the arrests were effected and take a more dispassionate view of the legitimate acts done by the Police in the course of their law enforcement duties.

by Ramanooj GOPALSINGH