Those responsible for burning the remains of the welder who was found dead near his mining camp even before Police could investigate can only face charges based on the advice from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
The DPP still has the file that was compiled by investigating ranks, and is yet to advise Police on the way forward.
According to Deputy Commander of B Division (Berbice), Phillip Azure, although a month has passed since the welder, Yogindra “Steve” Ramkarran, was discovered lifeless and whose body was allegedly burnt by his co-workers, the police are awaiting word from the office of the DPP as to the next step.
However, Azure was unable to say how soon the file will be returned and if those involved in the incident will be charged for perverting the course of justice. However, he noted that due to the fact that this case is an unusual one, the police have to be properly guided before they can act.
The dead man, Yogindra “Steve” Ramkarran, was employed by a well-known sawmill owner from Corentyne, Berbice, and is said to have mysteriously died in the interior on July 4 but his co-workers burnt his body after allegedly being instructed to do so by their employer.
Police had acknowledged that Ramkarran’s cause of death was unknown due to the fact that his body was burnt before an autopsy could have been conducted.
However, despite repeated claims by the employees involved that they were instructed by their boss to burn Ramkarran’s body, the sawmill owner continues to deny the allegations.
Crime Chief (ag), Senior Superintendent Michael Kingston had earlier explained that when the police received a report about Ramkarran’s demise, a rank immediately left to investigate. But due to the distance of the crime scene, it took some time for him to arrive at that location.
Kingston had stated that although it has been alleged that the ashes from the decomposed body belong to Ramkarran, the necessary testing needs to be conducted to confirm this.
As such, samples of the remains will be tested at the Guyana Forensic Science Laboratory (GFSL) to confirm the identity of the dead person.
