Body of epileptic floats up in Mon Repos canal

Jan 31, 2013 News

One day after he went missing, 48-year-old Rajesh Balkarran’s body was pulled from a canal along Agriculture Road, Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara.

Undertakers removing the body from the trench.

Schoolchildren on their way to school made the ghastly discovery around midday.
Their alarms had scores of residents and curious passersby peering over a treacherous wooden bridge rail along the Mon Repos Railway Embankment to get a glimpse of the body floating in the canal below.
Investigators have almost ruled out foul play since there were no visible marks of violence on the body.
It is widely believed that Balkarran fell from the wooden rail and drowned after catching a fit.
Sancharie, a relative who took care of Balkarran told the media at the scene that she last saw him on Tuesday morning.
She said that after Balkarran did not return home on Tuesday, she became uneasy, since his medical condition was worrying and she could not get to administer the medication prescribed for him.
“He de walk away from us for three days and three nights and end up till in Bee Hive (a village about 12 miles away). That was in December last year. When dey bring he back, he was fold up like a child…and from then he start taking this medication,” Sancharie explained.
She said that Balkarran would normally sit on the rail of the bridge near where he was found, and persons who knew his condition would warn him against the practice.
Relatives are convinced that for some reason, Balkarran did not heed the advice.
“People pass and say they see he pon de line top. Me start look around since last night…me get a message dat schoolchildren pass and dem see he float up in de water,” Sancharie stated.