Rundheersing Bheenick damages trial: the surprising revelations of Jayendra Kumar Ramtohul

Surprising statement from the former executive of the Bank of Mauritius (BOM), Jayendra Kumar Ramtohul, Tuesday in Court.

Called to the stand, Jayendra Kumar Ramtohul, a retired executive from the Bank of Mauritius, discussed the circumstances that led him to give a statement against Rundheersing Bheenick. This was, as part of the suit filed by the latter against the State, the Commissioner of Police (CP) and the former Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Heman Jangi.

The former governor of the BoM is jointly claiming Rs 50 million in damages from them, after his arrest in February 2015. He claims that his contract as governor of the BoM was terminated on December 26, 2014, following the general elections. He adds that he was accused of stealing BoM documents.

“Koze menti si bizin pou kul li”

From the outset, Jayendra Kumar Ramtohul maintained that the Bheenick affair began with a BoM summit meeting on February 10, 2015. Rundheersing Bheenick's successor, Ramesh Basant Roi, and the then First Deputy Governor, Yandraduth Googoolye, among others, participated in this meeting. It was agreed according to the witness that he (Jayendra Kumar Ramtohul) was going to make a statement to the police on behalf of the BoM, (Pre-measure) on the documents “taken away” by Rundheersing Bheenick. “Basant Roi,” he said something that shocked me. He told me – koze lied si bizin pou kul li,” says the former BoM executive, in court under oath.

The next day a draft of his statement was prepared in advance with the support of a Senior Counsel. On February 12, 2015, he went to the Central Barracks as planned. He adds that during the testimony, certain words were “changed” to adapt to police jargon.

Jayendra Ramtohul had held the position of Head Corporate Services Division at the Bank of Mauritius (BoM), before retiring in February 2016. He claimed to have been perceived as a “juda” when the media highlighted the fact that It was following his statement to the police that his “mentor”, the former governor of the Central Bank Rundheersing Bheenick, was arrested in 2015.

“Sa vine depi lao”

During his statement to the police, ex-ACP Heman Jangi, allegedly suggested a modification to the end of the statement which should have ended with “a number of documents were untraceable and may have been taken by Mr Rundheersing Bheenick”. This conclusion was amended to “The Bank has grounds to believe that Mr Rundheersing Bheenick has misappropriated documents”. Faced with the objections of the Senior Counsel present, the former police officer reportedly replied, “Sa vine depi lao”, putting an end to all debate. Furthermore, Jayendra Kumar Ramtohul claimed that the daughter of former ACP Heman Jangi was recruited by the BoM as Bank Officer Grade 1. Heman Jangi refuted the allegations of the former BoM executive on Tuesday May 14, 2024, during his hearing. He said he was “shocked” by the comments made. He claims to have learned a posteriori that his daughter had left the Mauritius Commercial Bank (MCB) to go work at the BoM. “I asked her for details and she said she applied in due form and had an interview. It is nonsensical to bring my daughter into this,” maintained the former high-ranking police officer. He added that he acted in accordance with the law. During his hearing, Heman Jangi denied having intervened to modify Jayendra Ramtohul's testimony. He claims that being the head of the Central Criminal Investigation Department (CCID) at the time, he was not involved in the details of the investigation. His mandate was to only supervise it. Jeevalaxmi Chedumbrum Pillay, mandated by the Central Bank, affirmed that the position of Bank Officer Grade I was indeed the subject of a call for applications on October 8, 2015 contrary to what was previously stated. The case was adjourned until July 9, 2024 for oral arguments.