2 die in police station protest

Two young men from Yorogo, a suburb of the Bolgatanga Municipality, lost their lives as a result of gunshot wounds they sustained during a misunderstanding with the Police in Bolgatanga, over the arrest of some four suspects.

The two deceased, Thomas Amisiaya and one Peter, were among a number of youth from the Yorogo Community who had besieged the Bolgatanga Police Station on Friday night in protest against the arrest of some four persons from the community in connection with an attempted lynching and burning of a motorbike belonging to Daniel Alhassan Azaah, a Mortuary Attendant at the “Upper East Regional Hospital” in Bolgatanga.

The youth got to the Police Station with a coffin containing the body of a deceased resident, James Akuntubegu Ataribuno, who was knocked down by the “Mortuary man” on Thursday June 22 at about 6:30 pm in Yorogo.

The angry youth wanted Police to add the deceased to the number of persons they arrested from the community. They did not understand why the Police left the “Mortuary Man” to be roaming freely after “killing” a pedestrian; Akuntubegu Ataribuno, and were rather quick to arrest people they suspected to have beaten up the “Mortuary man” and burnt his motor bike at the Bolgatanga Mortuary.

Earlier, on that Friday, when the youth went to the Mortuary to take the body of Ataribuno for burial, they saw the Mortuary Man there and out of anger, some of them pounced on him and though he managed to escape, they set his motorbike on fire. His car was earlier burnt on Thursday night after he had accidentally knocked down Akuntubegu Ataribuno.

The angry residents believe that, the Mortuary Man intentionally killed Ataburino due to a long standing dispute between him (the Mortuary man) and the deceased’s clan. The deceased’s body was later taken home that Friday night and buried.

The bodies of Thomas Amisiaya and Peter who died on Saturday June 24, due to the gunshot wounds have all been deposited at the Upper East Regional Hospital Mortuary.

The death of the three young men has, however, heightened tension in the Yorogo Community, as many blamed the Police for supporting the Mortuary Man.

The situation is very likely to revive a long standing “Inter-Clan” battle between the Mortuary man and the deceased’s clan.

A Police source told the DAILY GUIDE that, the Police had to fire rubber bullets to disperse the angry youth who had besieged the Police Station on the Friday night.

Meanwhile the Police source has hinted that the four persons arrested; namely Nyaaba Nsor, Joseph Abubakari, Joshua Agbambire and Adongo Peter, the Assembly man, would soon be arraigned for causing unlawful damage to property.

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