Investigations into Beckley case in early stage - CID

The Criminal Investigations Department (CID) of the Police on Sunday, stated that, investigations into the alleged kidnapping of two teenage girls by Dr Ram Beckley, an Occultist and Medical Practitioner was still in the early stage and cautioned the media to be circumspect in their reportage.

Chief Superintendent David Asante-Apeatu, Officer in Charge of Operations briefing newsmen in Accra on the case said "Whilst the police appreciates the effort of the media to keep the public informed, we wish to caution against 'sentimental reportage' that may raise passions to the detriment of peace and order".

He said, "Conclusions on investigations cannot be based on speculations and innuendoes, but on concrete and palpable evidence, especially as regards scientific analysis". Mr Asante-Apeatu noted that it was the duty of the CID to use all available techniques to determine whether or not any crime was committed, who the perpetrators are and to assembly credible evidence, which would help the courts to convict offenders.

He said, "emphasis needs to be made here that, the success or failure of any investigation is highly dependent on the action and inaction of the people who immediately rush to the scenes of crime. Hence crime scenes need to be preserved for clues to be collected to ensure quality investigations at all times".

The Operations Officer declared that, the police would not falter in its investigations into the case and said that even though reliable physical evidence, which could have assisted in the investigations were destroyed by the mob, the police would strive to get to the logical scientific conclusion of the matter.

Chief Superintendent Asante-Apeatu said "under the circumstances prevailing in this part of our world where basic scientific equipment for such specialised forensic analysis is unavailable to the police service, the tendency is to recourse to local scientific research institutions for assistance. This assistance is sometimes not easy to come by".

He cited an example of an official at the Noguchi Research Institute who after assurances later informed the police that "they were not in the position to help in the forensic analysis". "We are however undaunted by this development. We are pursuing contacts with other agencies locally and foreign for assistance with the forensic analysis," he said.