POST mortem examinations are to be performed today on the three bodies found in the backlands along the East Coast Demerara on Sunday.

The funeral rites are likely to be performed jointly at the Enterprise cemetery tomorrow, relatives said.

The three shot dead Sunday were 43-year-old Bemchand Barran, a fisherman of more than 20 years, and his eight-year-old son Morvin, of Last Street, Enterprise Squatting Area; and Dhanpaul Jagdeo 26, of Non Pariel Housing Scheme.

Relatives yesterday said both Bemchand and his son and Jagdeo had left their homes early that morning to go into the backdam on different parts of the East Coast Demerara where they worked.

Bemchand, a very poor fisherman who daily went out to catch shrimp as his only means of sustenance for the family outside of the cane harvesting period, woke Morvin around 2.30 a.m. to accompany him to the backdam.

At that time of the morning it was very cold and dark. So cold was it, relatives said, that when the dew fell on their clothes and hair it could be seen.

And so Bemchand's wife insisted that her eight-year-old wear a cap "to protect his little mole."

And sobbing, Pramla yesterday recalled the horror of their death. Her sond and husband were shot in the head.

When Bemchand left home that morning he promised he'd be back with Morvin by 7.30 a.m. And as is customary, they would begin picking the shrimps which the kids would take around the village and offer for sale.

One neighbour recalled that on Friday Bemchand had begged him to buy a $100 parcel of shrimps from him. It appeared he really needed the money, but the neighbour was not disposed to do so at the time.

"And now I am sorry that I did not," he sighed yesterday.

The entire community shared the grief of the death of the two men and the child. Jagdeo had lived in Enterprise for years before moving to Non Pariel.

After it grew late and the two still did not return home, Pramla sent an elder son Navindra in search of them. It was around noon when Navindra, riding a bicycle, stumbled on his father and brother in the backdam several miles on a dam amid the canefields aback of Enterprise.

He hastened back home to inform his mother and other family members.

Pramla said she was on the road when Navindra returned. "He was so shocked, he coulda' hardly talk," she recalled, realising that something was amiss and tried to 'shake' him into speaking.

And choking with tears he told her: "Mommy, daddy and Morvin dead." Neighbours said the woman sounded an agonising wail and they all ran out, as she had earlier alerted them that the two were missing.

Villagers hastened down to the backdam and Police later joined them.

Navindra said that when he first saw them lying on the grass he figured they were tired and had fallen asleep. In excitement he called out to them that they should wake up and "come home". But little did he know that they had indeed 'gone home'.

After he did not get a response, he drew closer, only to find them lying in blood. They had both been shot.

Bibi Zamina Jagdeo, wife of Dhanpaul Jagdeo, said that her husband left home at around 5.50 a.m. to go to the Annandale backdam where he worked in the employ of a private sugar cane farmer known as "Jinga".

Bibi who has a four-month-old baby girl, said she did not get through cooking early enough for her husband to walk with lunch or eat before leaving the house, so he had something light, and promised he would be back early and enjoy her cooking.

But when several hours passed a

KILLED: Bemchand Barran nd he still did not return she grew worried.

Her father Rahamat Ali said that on that day his church (Enterprise Baptist) had an outing and get-together at the old Non Pariel airstrip. The members were having fun together when the Pastor informed them that he heard that two bodies were found in a canefield some miles away.

He suggested they close off and return home.

Knowing that his son-in-law had left home and not returned he became agitated and insisted on going with the others to view the bodies. When he got to the scene the recognised the Barrans as they had lived in the same village for years before he moved to Non Pariel.

Soon after, they heard that another body was found. He notified the Police that his son-in-law was missing, and asked that he be allowed to accompany them to the scene of the third body.

On arrival in the Annandale backland he discovered the dead man was his son-in-law, Dhanpaul.

Rahamat, with whom the couple and their baby were living, said he felt the death terribly. He said Dhanpaul was a very quiet young man and a good son-in-law.

The tearful widow, with baby in hands was so shaken she could hardly speak.

They had been married for about a year.