Bisnauth Baldeo Ram of Section ‘A’ Cotton Tree Village, West Coast Berbice reportedly turned the family’s single-storey wooden structure, measuring 20ft by 18ft, into a pyre in which he perished following hours of dispute with his wife on Thursday.
This publication was told that resulting from this dispute, Ram’s wife had earlier departed the home, claiming she was going to the city to stay with a relative; and neighbours had last seen the 52-year-old Ram standing in front of his gate on Thursday at about 10:45hrs, when he was overheard saying that he had had enough of his wife walking out of the house, and was going to burn the house and kill himself in the process.
Smoke reportedly began emanating from the front of Ram’s house at about 11:00hrs, but by the time the Fire Service arrived on scene some 30 minutes later, the entire building was engulfed. A fire unit from GuySuCo’s Blairmont Estate first responded, and then the Onverwagt Fire Station sent a unit.
When the fire was extinguished, Ram’s charred remains were found among the debris. He reportedly had been unemployed, and was said to have been an alcoholic.
According to a source from the New Amsterdam Fire Service, Ram had locked the door and had placed a table to prevent anyone from entering the building in the initial stages of the fire.
Ram’s body is currently at the Fort Wellington Hospital Mortuary, awaiting a post mortem. (Andrew Carmichael)
