Police Deny Reports

THE POLICE at Odumase-Krobo in the Lower Manya District have refuted media allegations that they did not act on a complaint lodged with them on Wednesday, July 6, concerning Ebenezer Ben Blay from Atua in the same district, who is alleged to have been attacked by a group of people at Atua. The station officer of Odumase-Krobo police station, Chief Inspector Prosper K. Dogbey, said Blays� mother had been jumping from one radio station to the other, claiming that the police at Odumase-Krobo had refused to act on a complaint she made concerning the alleged attack of her son. Meanwhile, Blay had been arrested earlier on by a group of people and sent to the station for attacking the house of one Jonathan Ayertey, popularly called Sparrow, at Atua. The station said Blay�s mother, Martha Yaaba Bervell, a customs officer, had even complained to the Police Intelligence and Professional Standards (PIPS) about the case, adding that all those allegations made by her were completely false. According to Chief Inspector Dogbey, Ben Blay, who had a mental problem, was brought to the station at about 12 midnight by a group of people, led by Jonathan Ayertey. The people claimed that Ben Blay had entered Ayertey�s compound, attacked his security man and smashed his glass door and windows, in an attempt to attack him. The station officer told DAILY GUIDE that when Blay was brought to the station, he was bleeding profusely from a deep cut on the forehead so he was sent to the Atua Government Hospital, on police recommendation, to receive treatment before any charge could be preferred against him. He stressed that the explanation given to the police was that Ben Blay, in an attempt to escape, allegedly jumped out of the bucket of the pick-up he was being transported in to the police station, and fell on the tarred road and cut himself. He said the following day, Martha Bervell came to the police station while Ben Blay was on admission at the Atua hospital and lodged a complaint that her son had been attacked. But the police explained to her that her son had been brought there as a suspect, and that he was on admission at the hospital as he had sustained a cut on the forehead. The mother explained to him that her son was a mental patient, and insisted on sending him to the psychiatric hospital in Accra. The police however told her that since a report had been made against her son, and since his statement had not been taken, she could not take him away. Bervell was however able to convince the hospital officials to release her son, without the police�s knowledge, after which she sent him to the Accra psychiatric hospital. �It is surprising for Madam Bervell to go on air and make these cruel allegations against the police here,� he said. The police showed a report on their file signed by the immediate past District Commander, ASP Twum Barima, which read in part that �I wish to state that police here started receiving complaints about Ben Blay at Odumase-Krobo, Somanya and Kpong stations as far back as March 3, 2009 and beyond, that suspect has been organizing some drug addicts armed with machetes and other offensive implements, threatening and causing harm to people within the vicinity without any cause�. The police said it was on record that Ben Blay had personally been attacking innocent people at Atua, Somanya and Kpong and anytime a report was made against him, the mother would follow up with counter complaints with the excuse that the suspect was a mental patient. �In my estimation, the mother of the suspect, Ebenezer Ben Blay, who is a customs officer and knows very well the condition of her son, has to assist the police in taking action against the said mental patient or should be held liable in any catastrophe caused by this ex-soldier who is mentally handicapped,� the police report indicated. Mr. Ayertey, who was allegedly attacked after the suspect had vandalized musical instruments belonging to the Nazareth Evangelical Christian Ministry at Atua, showed DAILY GUIDE the damage Ben Blay caused to his doors and windows. The man said he used to be in a relationship with Bervell but backed out of the relationship, stressing that he used to be close to her children but the children threatened to kill him for reasons unknown to him.