The Director of Public Prosecutions has advised the Guyana Police Force to not institute criminal charges against the contractor allegedly involved in the removal of sand from a burial ground at Murphy Dam Cemetery, West Bank Berbice, which resulted in several tombs disappearing.
Commander of Region Five, Kurleigh Simon, recently told reporters that “the file came back with advice that the interested parties, that is the NDC or the persons who claim that their deceased relatives’ gravesites were desecrated, can take private legal action, because there was not enough evidence against the contractor or the individual for a criminal charge to be preferred.”
Initially the DPP’s file last year was sent back to the division requesting additional information, and Simon stressed that after this all of the parties involved were contacted again with further statements being taken along with documents and photographs being supplied so as to ensure all the information needed was given.
In October last year, the Regional Vice Chairman, Rion Peters, had said that he had received reports that “some individuals” were doing excavation in the Murphy Dam Ceme-tery. As such he decided to check on the situation where he discovered “residents who were in grief and who were dissatisfied.”
According to Peters, he was very surprised that persons would want to carry out such an act in a cemetery the “final resting place” for the deceased.
Peters had stressed that based on the Rosignol/ Zeelust Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) layout (plan) the area is officially identified as a communal burial ground and that the police had been contacted.
Clarifying that to his knowledge the individuals involved had no contract with the RDC to supply sand, Peters had said, “There is a lot of construction going on so I’m not sure if this sand is being sold to private persons or contractor or what but the fact remains that the issue at hand is that the sand was removed from a cemetery and it is affecting the community.”
Meanwhile, several residents who had gathered at the location after the discovery had claimed that the graves of their relatives cannot be found.
Vanessa also known as “Vanu” relayed that her husband passed away in June and was buried at the location, however, they cannot find his grave since the excavation. “We get message that somebody digging out and when we come nothing na here, just the hole we seeing, not even one piece board, nothing, nothing.”
Another villager, Rajendra Victor, 64, explained that several other tombs were missing. “More people bury here and them can’t find them… Last week Saturday me come a backdam and see them a dig with a hymac and them move out that one heap sand and them na move this one… Them a time people and try to move it and abbay loved ones them bury here, me father, me mother, me sister all bury here”, he said.
According to Victor, decades ago four residents came together and handed over the land for the burial ground. “When rain fall all them tomb wa left go wash down, them na supposed to do that to come and destroy the burial ground”, he lamented.
On October 15, 2023 Juliet Dukhi, wrote a letter to Stabroek News expressing how distressed she was as she tried to grapple with the situation. She highlighted that one of the graves was the resting place of her mother and this event has left her drained emotionally and psychologically. “Why did he continue to allow residents to continuously bury their loved ones there? Why didn’t he erect a notice that it’s private property? If he owns this land why is the Rosignol NDC selling the burial plots and not him? Why didn’t he inform the residents that he owns the land and it will be dug up and the sand removed/sold? These residents I refer to are from the catchment area of Cotton Tree Village on the northern end which includes the neighbouring villages on both sides as well as those at the Southern end under Blairmont/Gelderland such as Plantain Walk and Shieldstown“, she stated in the letter.
In December last year the contractor, Alvin Chowramootoo, who was blamed for the removal of material from the burial ground said that no grave was damaged and he owns the land where the sand was taken from.
In an interview with the Stabroek News, he said that his section is located a distance away from the burial ground. He had noted that he had a bill of sale for part of the land and transport for part, all of which was acquired in 2014.
Additionally, the contractor claimed that both a private surveyor and a surveyor from Lands and Survey had visited the location following the incident and identified the area where the burial ground is located – what he described to be a “small piece.”
Chowramootoo had said that there were no remains discovered in the sand which was dug and further stated that persons started to use the burial ground only between 2014 – 2015. Nevertheless, he insisted when pressed that no grave was damaged.
