POLICE are investigating the circumstances surrounding the death of a 53-year-old vendor, whose lifeless body was found at his West Indian Housing Scheme Bartica, Essequibo River on home Thursday morning.

Dead is Chandika Persaud. The Guyana Chronicle was told that Persaud was an alcoholic and lives alone in a two-storey wooden and concrete house. On Thursday, June 18, 2020 around 07:00 hours, Persaud was last seen alive sitting on his veranda. His neighbour, Davanand Singh, told the police that Persaud had invited him for a drink but he told the man that he would join him after doing some chores around his house. The neighbour explained that after finishing his chores around 09:30, he went to Persaud’s home and shouted several times for him but got no response.

Singh explained that he then went into the yard and found Persaud lying at the bottom of his stairs motionless and appeared to be dead. He then reported the matter to the police, who visited the scene and observed small abrasions on Persaud left shoulder, right elbow, upper right shoulder and swelling on his forehead. Persaud’s body was later taken to the Bartica Regional Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival by a doctor. His body was later escorted to the Lyken Funeral Home where it awaits a post mortem examination.