A Government Pathologist confirmed through a post-mortem on Friday morning that 14-year-old Dhaniram Ramgopaul of Good Hope, East Coast Demerara died by drowning, and that he had sustained to the head a blunt trauma that was consistent with a fall.

But even as the findings of the PM are that the lad died by drowning, and that he had a blunt trauma to the head, relatives are wondering if the lad had fallen and hit his head after he had been drugged, as was reportedly confessed by one of the persons who had initially been held in connection with Dhaniram’s death.

The relative who spoke with the Guyana Chronicle questioned whether the lad might had lost consciousness after he had fallen at the home that he had been taken to; and because the persons who had taken him there began to fear and panic, he had then been taken to the creek and dumped in his unconscious state and later drowned.

The Guyana Chronicle has been informed that the late Dhaniram had earlier been seen jumping from a bridge into a creek where he was found dead.

His mother said last week that when Dhaniram’s body was discovered, it appeared to be fresh, and that he also appeared to have been murdered, as she spoke of a wound to his lip and throat.

However, a police source who spoke with this newspaper said it was difficult to make a determination of murder.
That source also pointed out that what appeared to be marks of violence on Dhaniram’s body were actually fish bites.

Over the weekend, persons familiar with the late Dhaniram, his father and the persons who had been taken into custody described to the Guyana Chronicle another scenario that might have been responsible for Dhaniram’s death. They said that Dhaniram’s father and the three lads who had been taken into custody immediately after his disappearance had had a running feud because of their habit of using their mobile music carts in the vicinity of the Mon Repos Market, where the senior Ramgopaul is said to be a senior officer.

Information received is that the man would usually chase the lads from the area because of the loud ‘noise’ of the music carts, and that practice would anger the young men from time to time.

Dhaniram’s relatives are convinced that the lads who had been held might have vented their spite on him. The police have already released from custody the lads and the woman, after it was determined that there was not sufficient evidence to hold them in relation to the matter. Now that the findings of the PM have been released, the police would be looking to investigate reports that the arrested lads had an issue with Dhaniram’s father and pursue investigations to determine the nature of the misunderstanding between the lads and Dhaniram’s father in order to conclude whether that could have been a factor in Dhaniram’s death.

(Leroy Smith)