CoP, AG get more time to respond to ex-ACP's lawsuit

THE STATE has been given a little more time to enter an appearance in defence of a lawsuit filed months ago by retired ACP Totaram Dookhie, who has alleged victimisation, abuse of power, and constitutional breaches during his tenure with the police service.

Named as defendants in Dookhie’s lawsuit, filed on March 21, are the Commissioner of Police and the Attorney General.

On June 23, Justice Westmin James was told that, despite the claim and additional affidavits being filed and served on the Registrar General and Chief State Solicitor’s departments of the Office of the Attorney General in March and April, there was no acknowledgement of service.

As a result, there was no appearance by any attorney for either the Commissioner or the Attorney General at the hearing.

“It is a very unsatisfactory state of affairs, because the allegations that form the basis of this claim, they're very serious allegations made against a serious public official, and one would expect that good administration will dictate that the court is presented with someone who is coming here to defend these allegations,” Dookhie’s attorney, Gerald Ramdeen, noted.

“It’s been four months.”

In agreement, James said his only option would be to give the State a short adjournment. He directed Ramdeen to serve the adjourned date on the State and file an affidavit of service by 4 pm on June 24, before adjourning the matter to July 9.

In his lawsuit, Dookhie, 63, who served for 41 years before retiring in 2021, claims he was sidelined, publicly discredited, and unlawfully arrested in retaliation for probes he led into misconduct involving senior police officers and government officials.

His lawsuit alleges repeated interference in investigations, forced leave, unwanted transfers, and baseless disciplinary threats. It says Dookhie was removed from the Professional Standards Bureau (PSB) in 2019 while probing firearm licensing irregularities and corruption, including an investigation into a senior public official guided by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) and a British King’s Counsel.

Dookhie alleges that after raising internal complaints, he was sent on six months’ leave in December 2019. Upon returning in January 2020 to meet court deadlines in the case against former minister Marlene McDonald, he claims he was blocked from accessing his office and reassigned to a post without resources or staff.

In March 2020, Dookhie was arrested on kidnapping and false imprisonment charges, which were later dropped. He claims this was an orchestrated move to damage his reputation and emotionally traumatise his family.

His claim also alleges he was denied fair promotion, including being forced out of an acting Deputy Commissioner role based on unfounded allegations. He said he was stripped of duties, barred from completing key investigations, and eventually isolated from operational roles until retirement.

Dookhie is seeking damages for lost income, legal and medical expenses, and psychological harm. His legal team includes attorneys Karina Singh, Vashisht Seepersad, and Angel Jaggernath.

Dookhie said his career was irreparably harmed. “I gave my life to building an institution, only to be forced out in shame and disgrace because I chose to remain true and faithful to my oath.”