A man is in police custody following the brazen robbery by a gang of heavily armed bandits who shot an Anna Catherina, West Coast Demerara businessman and robbed him of an undisclosed sum at his home on Tuesday evening.
The wounded man, Basdeo Sahadar is currently in a stable condition at the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH) after being transferred there from the West Demerara Regional Hospital (WDRH) where he had been rushed after the incident.
A police press release said that acting on information received one man was arrested and is in police custody assisting with investigations. It said that a motorcar suspected to have been used by the bandits during the robbery was also recovered in the city. While the police said it was five bandits, family members stated that it was six men.
Recounting the ordeal, which lasted for less than five minutes, Sahadar’s son, Deodat yesterday said that it was shortly before 7 pm when the bandits arrived in a white car by reversing it through the narrow street.
His father and younger brother Davendra were outside at the time. He said that the bandits were all armed with guns and wore handkerchiefs over the lower part of their faces. Police said that the men were armed with three handguns and a shotgun. Davendra was in a hammock while their father was sitting on a bench close to him. Davendra said that one of the bandits armed with the “big” gun ran up to them and held on to his father and hit him with the gun, which resulted in him falling to the floor. Sahadar then bolted in a bid to escape resulting in one of the bandits firing three shots at him, one of which hit him in his left hip. Shouting “thief! thief!” the wounded man entered a nearby house and hid. The bandits did not attempt to follow him.
Meanwhile, three other bandits who were all armed with handguns had closely followed the first one and while the trio forced Devendra upstairs, one remained downstairs while two stood guard at the gate.
Once in the living room upstairs, the bandits began demanding money and ransacked the place. “They tell ‘me hurry up hurry up'”, Devendra recounted. While in the process of tearing apart the room the bandits discovered the money and jewellery, which they stuffed into a bag. “They (the bandits) seh we got Christmas here”, the boy recounted. He said that the bandits also gun-butted him two times.
Deodat had heard the commotion and hid on the verandah and at one point stood up and attempted to call the police. “I go to call the police and they fire two shots at me”, he stated. The bandits who were outside had apparently observed the light from the phone and fired in his direction, though none of the bullets hit him. After that he lay back on the floor and did not make the call.
Their mother had meantime hidden in the bathroom and another brother had concealed himself behind the dog pen.
Meantime, residents alerted to the incident began to place pieces of wood and concrete across the road and this was observed by the bandits outside who shouted to their accomplices “come quick! come quick! the people blocking the road”. At this warning the robbers quickly exited the home and entered the car and drove away.
In the midst of their getaway, they fired two shots in the air. Police said that it is suspected that the robbers escaped by boat along the Atlantic Ocean.
The brother, who had hidden behind the dog pen, had by this time called the police. The person who answered told him that they could not do anything and advised him to call another number. Relatives said that they were told too that all the police vehicles were on the road and the police eventually turned up 45 minutes later. “They too slow”, Deodat said noting that he is still shaken by the incident. The Leonora Police Station is a short distance away from the area.
Following the bandits’ getaway relatives attempted to follow the car in their vehicle but while negotiating the debris placed across the road, a section of the pick-up slid into a deep drain and became stuck.
Sahadar was taken to the WDRH and then transferred to the GPH where he was admitted. This is not the first time that the goldsmith has been robbed.
While on the way to Bartica last year, four armed bandits in another boat pulled up to the vessel that he was in and robbed him of over $11M and his licensed .32 revolver and six matching rounds.
