Relatives and others who knew the two Region Three teenagers who were found dead weeks apart in apparent suicides say more investigations need to be done even as the actions of welfare officers believed to have led one of them to take his life have outraged them.
Natasha Nazamudeen, 15, of Tuschen, East Bank Essequibo was found dead in her home on December 18 while her boyfriend Safraz Sattaur, 16, of Anna Catherina, West Coast Demerara was found hanging in his bedroom on Friday after reportedly being threatened by welfare officers in relation to the death of Natasha. “The people (welfare officers) tell he de gyal get murder and he gah go court,” a resident who spoke to Sattaur immediately after the officers left told Stabroek News yesterday. He said that the teen was visibly upset at the time.
When contacted on Saturday, Minister of Educa-tion Priya Manickchand had said that she was unaware of the issue and would look into it.
Around 2pm on Friday, a few villagers who had gathered opposite the Sattaurs’ home to do a ‘bush cook’ saw three persons, who had exited a white mini-bus, talking to Sattaur outside his yard. One of the villagers had told Stabroek News that he had approached the group after noticing that Sattaur appeared distressed. “When I go up to them, they stop talking till I move off and then they continue. A couple minutes later I see the ministry vehicle drive out of the street,”