The body of a 21-year-old man was discovered on the Meten-Meer-Zorg, West Coast Demerara foreshore yesterday morning and it is believed that he drowned.
Dead is Shivram Persaud of Meten-Meer-Zorg. Relatives said that he was mentally incapacitated. His body was discovered sometime between 6:30 am and 7 am yesterday by a passer-by. Persaud had disappeared on Wednesday.
His aunt, Sumintra Kishna told Stabroek News that shortly after mid-day on Wednesday her nephew was at the seawall just behind the Meten-Meer-Zorg Primary School. She said that he did not know how to swim. However, he took off his clothes. She received differing reports from residents, Kishna said, noting that some related that he jumped into the sea while others said “he walk down and he go down in the water”. She said that the tide was receding at the time.
However, Persaud’s brother, Roopnarine called ‘Ricky’ said that he was told that Persaud had jumped into the water.
Residents alerted the police, who went to the spot on Wednesday afternoon and retrieved the young man’s clothes.
When the body was retrieved yesterday, it was observed that there were bruises to the nose and the left eye, Kishna said.
“He is a sickly child”, the woman noted stating that Persaud became mentally incapacitated following an accident when he was 11 years old. Roopnarine stated that he last saw his younger brother on Tuesday night. On Wednesday night, Persaud left with a friend before he got up from bed, he related.
The body was taken to the West Demerara Regional Hospital. A post-mortem examination is expected to be done today.
