Children bury wrong father in parlour mix-up

Jun 19, 2022 News

Kaieteur News – When a family turned up at the Persaud’s Funeral Home in New Amsterdam, Berbice, on Saturday morning to prepare their deceased loved one for his final rights, they were met with a bizarre situation – it was not their relative.

The body of Mohabir Rangasammy was handed over to the wrong family and buried

The funeral home had reportedly handed over the body of their dead relative to another family and the body was buried five days earlier.
A nephew of the man that was buried, Amit Ramnarine, 39, of Canefield, East Canje, Berbice, disclosed that his uncle, Mohabir Rangasammy, 79, had fallen ill on Sunday, June 12, 2022 and was taken to the New Amsterdam Public Hospital where he died. Ramnarine said his uncle had a heart problem and while no tests were done, medical professionals at the institution said he died from COVID. His body was then taken to the Persaud’s Funeral Home.
However, because he reportedly died from COVID, they were not allowed to see the body at the parlour and as such, the funeral was set for June 18, 2022.
Ramnarine said when they showed up at the parlour to prepare the dead and they saw the body, it was then that they realised there was a mix-up.
He said they called on one of the parlour staffers and related the situation.

The family of Mohabir Rangasammy gathered at the parlour

“When they come, they said that is all the dead they have here and they didn’t have no funeral for the week,” Ramnarine related. He said some more inquires were made and someone called and informed them that there was a funeral at the parlour on Tuesday, June 14, 2022. He said it was further revealed that the body of his uncle was handed over to another family which buried him on Tuesday.
Ramnarine said that members of his family are confused as to how the other family could have buried a wrong dead without realising it.
“The son for this man I understand told them that my uncle is not his father and that his father have a beard, my uncle don’t have beard,” Ramnarine said as he wondered out loud “how they still collected the remains and went ahead with the funeral.”
“He didn’t know was he father Tuesday when he buried him and like the mother didn’t know who was she man to,” Ramnarine said in frustration. He said too that the funeral home has not offered any apology.
The matter, he said, has since been reported to police and the family will be looking to sue the funeral home. The body of his uncle has since been exhumed and cremated and the deceased that was at the parlour has been handed over to his family.