A 31-year-old man yesterday collapsed and died in his yard at 64 Sixth Street, Alberttown and relatives believe he ingested a poisonous substance.

Relatives said that the body of Davendra Raghunandan called Sunil was discovered by his wife sometime after 6 am yesterday and she alerted them.

When Stabroek News arrived on the scene, personnel from the Lyken Funeral Parlour were preparing to take the man’s body away.

The body bore no marks that suggested foul play but blood was seen coming from the man’s eyes, ears and nose. Relatives said the man probably drank the substance – believed to be acid used in the jewellery business – and was headed to the pipe in the yard when he collapsed. One of his hands, which was raised above his head, was already stiff and cold.

One relative, who preferred to remain anonymous, told this newspaper that Davendra was a goldsmith and he and a couple of other men operated the workshop in the bottom flat of the house where he lived with his wife and three children.

The relative said at the time of his demise he was not living with his family, since his wife had asked him to leave because she felt they could no longer live together.

After the police left the scene yesterday, some of the men who worked with Arjune went into the workshop and discovered that one of the containers in which they usually mixed a poisonous substance to wash jewellery was missing. Some of the poisonous substance was missing too.

The man’s wife was taken to the Alberttown Police station yesterday for questioning and the police are continuing investigations.

Later yesterday afternoon, Stabroek News returned and the man’s wife, Ronella gave her side of the story.

She said that she and her husband were separated for sometime now and that during her marriage he had been very abusive to her.

Ronella said that Raghunandan was sporting with some friends at a nearby shop up to about 2 am yesterday. She said that two months ago her husband attempted to commit suicide and was hospitalised at the Woodlands Hospital.

Davendra has left to mourn three children and six siblings who reside in the United States.