WEST DEMERARA sleuths have been tasked with determining what transpired after the burial of a young man whose final resting place has been targeted by tomb-raiders, and whose remains have been rendered headless. 
The gruesome discovery took place at the Tuschen Burial Ground on the East Bank Essequibo, where the cadaver, with its head cleanly severed at the shoulder, was found to have been neatly replaced in its coffin.
The corpse has been identified as that of 24-year-old Tuschen resident, Rickie Ramkarram, who died last Monday after committing suicide, and was buried Thursday.
According to the dead man’s mother, Rampattie Persaud, her son was buried Thursday following a funeral service at their Tuschen home, but early Friday morning, when her husband and her brother, Parmanand Persaud, went to the Tuschen cemetery to do some finishing touches on the tomb, they became alarmed on seeing that the tomb had been broken into.  
Mrs. Persaud said her brother raised an alarm and headed straight home, after which the police and media were called in.
She said her husband along with the police party then went back to the burial ground with some friends to check on the damaged tomb, and that while there,  he observed that the pins holding the coffin together were missing, which was further evidence that something was terribly amiss.
Upon closer examination, she said, he noticed that the robbers had apparently removed the head from the corpse before neatly placing it back into the coffin, which caused him to surmise that this was clearly the work of someone who was very knowledgeable of the area, and the manner in which the burial took place.
Mrs. Persaud said she does not know of any problems that her son had, and that she still cannot fathom why he would have taken his own life. All she knows, she said, is that speculation is rife in the village that her son was threatened by an individual with whom he had a minor misunderstanding recently.
She said this has only worsened matters for her, as all sorts of things are now coming to light now that her son’s head is missing.  Persons who attended the funeral say Ramkarram was a humble lad who worked on the sugar estate and never had a problem with anyone.  Further, Mrs. Persaud stated that there wasn’t much in her son’s tomb to make persons want to commit such a dastardly act.
Meanwhile, reports reaching this newspaper say that only a few nights ago, the corpse of a baby was removed from its tomb.
This has caused residents in the neighbourhood to speculate that these bizarre activities may now be the work of persons practising some sort of ritual or the other.
However, the matter has since been handed over to the police, and investigations are ongoing.
Over the years, the police have been called in on a number of occasions whereby tombs have been broken into across the country, and even necrophilia has been performed on some corpses.