Next
door neighbours of the robbery victims moving zinc |
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The robbers
carted off an undisclosed sum of money, jewellery and household articles, one of
the victims, Brijanand Baksh told the Chronicle.
He said their
ordeal started about 19:30 hrs (7:30 p.m.) when three armed men, clad only in
short pants, stormed into their Lot 20 Coldingen home.
Baksh, still
visibly shaken Wednesday, said they were just about going to bed when the
bandits struck.
Prior to then,
he had heard voices outside the house but paid no attention to them because the
one-flat building, made mostly of zinc sheets, houses two families, including
five children who were inside.
Baksh said the
invaders gained entry through the front door and immediately attacked his
brother Mohammed, wife Radica and two children, Avinash and
Shabana.
Radica and
Mohammed were seeking medical attention at Georgetown Public Hospital
Corporation Wednesday, for wounds suffered at the hands of their attackers, who
failed in a bid to forcibly take away eight-year-old
Shabana.
 Another neighbouring family waiting to move with household possessions. |
|
They ransacked
the house and, not satisfied with what loot they gathered, dealt Radica several blows, including with a gun
butt. One of the trio made a stab at Avinash with a
screwdriver but the thick jersey the child was wearing caused the
point not to penetrate.
However, the
13-year-old boy was thrown into a chest of
drawers and commanded to deliver money as the men searched and found
some hidden in a coffee bottle.
A tape
recorder, a bicycle and other things were also stolen by the marauders, before
her parents' pleas prevented them abducting the girl who was screaming all the
time.
Baksh said the
robbers next turned their attention to the adjoining one- bedroom apartment
where the male occupant handed over $5,000 which they took, along with a camera,
a 'Casio' wrist watch valued $10,000 and more things.
 The house walled with zinc sheets that was attacked on War Zone Street. |
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Baksh said
Tuesday night was the seventh time his household had such an experience. He had
only moved to that address three days before but is now leaving the village
permanently.
The other
family has been residing there for more than a year because they have nowhere
else to go, despite constant attacks by bandits.
Coldingen and
Non Pariel villages have been targeted since the February 23, 2002 Georgetown
jailbreak that saw the start of the escalating crime wave.
Some other
people in the Coldingen neighbourhood were dismantling their house Wednesday and
one of them, Sharon Shirlochan said she is moving to Enterprise after
three weeks at the location.
"I came here
for a fresh start, to build this small house with the little money I had. But we
have to move now that the bandits are around," said the woman, who was living
there with her sister and a small child.
Many more
houses in the vicinity have been abandoned and locked up or sold as their
occupants vacated for the same reason.
Another man,
Abdul, who was attacked in daylight on Tuesday, offered that the absence
of electricity and security makes Coldingen an ideal target.
Others said they desperately need a Police outpost because where they live is like a backyard to Buxton, from where most of the banditry is launched.
Friday, April 18, 2003
