–man fingers ex-lover as culprit

AFTER years of hard work to construct their home, an Essequibo couple was faced with the heartache of returning to meet it reduced to ashes by fire of as yet undetermined origin, which struck sometime between Friday night and Saturday morning last when they were visiting a relative a short distance away.

The couple had reportedly secured the home before leaving to spend a few hours with another relative, with whom they eventually spent the entire night. But in the early hours of Saturday morning, they received a call informing that the place they had once called home had been destroyed by fire.

Home-owner Dhaniram Chattergoon, a fisherman, lamented that everything he and his wife had accumulated had gone up in flames, including clothes, bed, furniture, kitchen utensils and other personal effects.

Chattergoon said he strongly believes that his ex-lover is responsible for the disaster that has visited him, and that she had been motivated by jealousy. He told the media that the woman had indicated that she would burn the building because he had dumped her and has been living with another woman.

The police in Essequibo have since arrested Chattergoon’s ex-lover who had allegedly made the threats, and have questioned her in relation to the allegation. She was later released, but investigations into the matter are ongoing.

(Leroy Smith)