The body of a 39-year-old watchman was fished out of a trench around 3.30 pm yesterday, two days after he disappeared while guarding an excavator in the Onverwagt backdam.
Shamshudeen Shaheed called ‘Champo’ of Bush Lot, West Coast Berbice left home around 2 pm on Thursday and was expected home around 9 the following morning. He was attached to the Mahaica-Mahaicony-Abary/Agricultu-ral Development Authority (MMA/ADA) scheme.
The body appeared to have a “mark on the ribs” and relatives are awaiting the results of a post-mortem examination to determine what may have caused his death.
During a search on Friday, his brown t-shirt was found at the side of the trench while a part was in the water, a short distance away from the excavator.
Workers had gone to the backdam on Friday and found that Shaheed’s bowl with half-eaten food, a bag, a bottle of water and his pair of sandals were still on the excavator.
There were also muddied prints as though his fingers were dragged on the machine. His bicycle was still left at MMA, from where he would be transported to and from the worksite.
His distraught mother, Zaiboon Shaheed told Stabroek News that it was only his second night on the job.
In tears, she recalled that around 9.30 am on Friday she received a call from the other workers who enquired whether he had returned home.
She told them no, but they did not say anything further.
She was preparing to go to the mosque around midday but she was still worried that her son had not come home so she changed her mind.
The woman said she managed to locate a telephone number for MMA and when she called she was told that some workers were on their way to her house. She was still on the phone when the men arrived.
“Dem tell me that he food bag and everything was still there and dem ask me wha colour shirt he had on. After dem ask me about the shirt me start to cry because me done know something wrong,” she said.
Relatives made a report to the Fort Wellington Police Station and together with the officers and MMA workers they searched for him but came up empty-handed.
They returned later and continued to comb the area and it was then that they found his shirt. When this newspaper visited the home yesterday morning relatives were making arrangements to continue the search.
His sister, Shaneeza of Bath Settlement said she was there on Monday evening when her brother received a phone call that he was given the job and he was very excited.
He started the following day and he had no problems. Before that he did odd jobs for persons. He leaves to mourn parents, siblings and his 12-year-old son, Asif.
