The power-sharing agreement was briefly in doubt when, in 2001, Bérenger faced a charge of aiding and abetting a murder suspect to escape arrest. Swaleha Joomun, a widow, was suing the deputy premier for facilitating the escape of Bissessur who was wanted in connection with a triple murder which occurred on 26 October 1996 in Port Louis. Joomun's husband was a victim of the murder. Bérenger defended himself by saying that the reason he had helped Bissessur was because the latter wanted to reveal what he knew on the "escadron de la mort (death squad)". A second private prosecution was lodged against Bérenger by Raju Mohit (a member of the Movement Republicain) but in both cases, the Director of Public Prosecutions of Mauritius gave a Nolle Prosequi.