- Dead: Rajeshwar Rampadarat
The spot where the body was found
Police investigation has been launched after the body of a man was discovered on the Corentyne Highway in the vicinity of Belvedere on Tuesday morning around 05:20h. The body bore marks of violence similar to those obtained during a vehicular accident.
The dead man has been identified as 26-year old Rajeshwar Rampadarat of lot 523 Block X Belvedere, Berbice. Police are investigating the matter as a hit-and-run but have not ruled out foul play.
According to reports, the man might have been placed at the scene and then run over by a lorry.
Residents in the community told Guyana Times that they heard nothing unusual, which prompted the belief that the body might have been dumped there.
When this publication visited the scene, Police had marked the road indicating the position the body was found in. There were blood stains running from the markings at the centre of the road to the corner.
According to his mother, Vilma Mootooveeren, she last spoke to her son at about 21:00h on Monday at their Belvedere home.
“I don’t know if he went out after that or he had left to go to work this morning,” the grieving mother said.
Mootooveeren said her son would leave home at varying times for work. “He would leave early in the morning before I get up some mornings and pack his bag and go. He don’t ride bicycle, he dose catch thing and go to work,” she said.
Another family member said Rampadarat was discovered without his hat and slippers. “We aint see his slippers nowhere and he does always wear a hat and we aint see it nowhere.
Meanwhile, persons in the community described Rampadarat as a ‘junkie’ who would prowl the community in the wee hours of the morning in search of friends who are up consuming alcohol.
Surveillance video shown to Police did not capture the area where the body was found but revealed that two lorries passed moments before an alarm was raised. The first lorry stopped several feet away and the driver stepped out and went to the front of the vehicle and inspected it.
When taken into custody, the driver of that lorry claimed another vehicle had passed shortly before him. Rampadarat leaves to mourn his parents and three siblings. Investigations are continuing.
