Friend of drowned man refutes “betting” accusation

Following the tragic death of Orvin Tiwari at St Cuthbert’s Mission on Sunday, news emerged that the young

man had jumped off a tree into the creek to win a bet he had made with another man, but a friend who was with him at the time refuted the claim.
The mechanic, of Lot 137 Block X, Good Hope, East Coast Demerara, took the fatal plunge into the black water creek at St Cuthbert’s Mission just after 15:00h on Sunday. He was reportedly in the water with his friends, but was swept into the deep as his friends turned their backs.
At the Tiwari home, Sanjay Annirood, a friend of the now deceased young man, refuted allegations that Tiwari jumped from a tree into the creek.
“Orvin never went up on no tree… it had a sudden drop and he fall in the drop and the water (current) is what pull he down… we tried to save him, a girl who went with us tried to save him, but the water was too strong so instead of getting him up, he was pulling her down with him,” the friend explained.
He further related that after the drowning pair called out to him, he rushed to their assistance and grabbed the female friend’s arm and pulled. “When I was coming up, I thought was both of them, but when we reach up, the girl said that Orvin loose off.”
At this time, they raised an alarm, and persons plunged into the water in search of the young man. About 15 minutes later, his body was pulled from the creek and taken to the Diamond hospital. The post-mortem conducted on his body on Monday morning proved that he drowned.
The young man’s father, Mahendra Tiwari, in tears, told Guyana Times that he was not aware that his son was heading to the Mission to partake in the festivities. He recalled seeing his son on Sunday morning when he collected a piece of equipment that he had left in his car.
The grieving father, a taxi driver, recalled receiving a call from someone urging him to return home at once. “I already had someone in my car to drop off at Buxton, but after I get the call so I asked the dispatcher to let another driver drop off the customer and I went home.”
As he arrived home, he saw everyone in tears and it was then he was given the news. He travelled to the Diamond hospital where he saw his son’s motionless body lying on the table.
Upon enquiring, he was reportedly told that his son and others were playing in the water and suddenly, he went into the deeper area causing him to be swept away. Guyana Times understands that this was the second time the now dead young man and his friends travelled to the Mission for the heritage celebration, but it was the first time they went into the water.
The young man leaves to mourn his parents and two brothers, among other relatives and friends. The family is preparing for his funeral later in the week.