The victims of Tuesday evening’s Tuschen robbery yesterday criticised the police for what they said was a slow response even as they attempted to come to grips with the traumatic incident.
On Tuesday evening, a gang of bandits, all armed with guns stormed the Chaitram family’s Tuschen Old Road home, which also houses a grocery, and robbed the family of over $6M in cash and jewellery before escaping.
During the incident, 55-year-old Chaitram was severely beaten by the gunmen while his brother, Balgobin Patiram, who was in the neighbouring yard, was grazed on his right hip by a bullet. After ransacking the home for over 20 minutes the bandits escaped in a white car they had arrived in.
Chaitram’s son, Anil, other relatives and neighbours, who gathered at the home yesterday, were critical of the police response following the incident.
Anil related that it was an hour after the 6:30 pm attack that the first police officers arrived at the home. He said they said they came to take “facts” and were unarmed. Other neighbours declared that they dialled 911 numerous times during the incident but the number was never answered.
This newspaper attempted to get a comment from the Commander of ‘D’ Division, Paulette Morrison on the allegations but this proved futile as it was stated that she was at a meeting in Georgetown.
Anil, recalling his ordeal, said that he had just reversed the family’s Canter Truck into the heavily grilled bond where the supplies are located when he noticed the passing white car.
He stated that his suspicions were immediately aroused and he rushed out of the vehicle to close the gate to the bond. But four of the bandits had already come out of the car and pushed against the gate while Anil pushed back.
Another bandit then came to join them. Anil recounted that as he attempted to put the padlock on the gate and moved one of his hands, he was overpowered and the bandits gained entry. He said that it appeared that yet another man waited in the car.
They were all armed with guns, with two carrying “big guns”. Before the bandits gained entry, one fired a shot, Anil said. He stated that as they entered, he ran and hid.
Anil’s family, including his pregnant wife, Oma, their two daughters, and Chaitram and his wife were upstairs at the time. The bond is connected to the house and can be accessed from there.
The bandits ran inside and ransacked the rooms. They found Chaitram in the kitchen, where he was attempting to hide and demanded money while holding him at gunpoint. Anil said that his father attempted to grab the gun but was hit in the head and fell down. He was then gun-butted about the body. One of Anil’s daughters’, who is nine years old, had managed to hide.
The rest of the family was ordered to lie on the floor. Oma, who is heavily pregnant, was ordered to lie on her belly. One of the bandits stood guard while the rest ransacked the home and took the cash and jewellery. “They had the time to do it”, Anil said. He related that one of the bandits, who appeared to be an old man, did the collecting of the items.
Meanwhile, the neighbours had been alerted that something was wrong. Patiram, who lived in the neighbouring house, said that they called 911 numerous times but there was no response. ‘No response from 911 and no answer and from more than one phone”, he stated angrily. Other neighbours said that they also called the number but the only heard what they described as a busy signal.
They said that they also called other persons and asked them to call the police. One man declared that when contact was made with the Leonora Police station, the person gave them another number to call.
As the minutes passed and persons in the neighbourhood began shouting that bandits were in the area, the one in the vehicle called to his cohorts and they left. Before leaving, one shot was fired into the air while another was aimed at the neighbouring yard. Patiram, who was trying to hide, was grazed on the right hip by the bullet.
Anil said that the police came about an hour later. By this time the bleeding Chaitram had been taken to the Leonora Hospital and the police arrived a few minutes before he returned home, Anil stated.
Persons present at the home yesterday were of the opinion that had the police arrived quickly, they would have been able to apprehend the bandits. “Police seem to do nothing about these things”, one man commented. Anil said that his youngest daughter was severely traumatised and could not sleep. He said when the first ranks arrived, they were not armed and they reportedly stated that they came to collect “facts”.
Noting that this was not the first time that the family had been robbed, Anil said that they did not feel like doing business anymore. He commented that as long as someone was dealing with cash, they were liable to get robbed. “I try to avoid it so much and it still happen”, he stated.
The heavily-grilled business was being operated behind locked doors yesterday.
Other persons vented their feelings. “”No body nah protect you”, another businesswoman said as others agreed. Persons called for an investigation into the operations of the 911 system.
Back in 2005, minutes after selling a bus, four men armed with guns, struck up the Chaitrams, grabbed the money from the sale and escaped. Anil stated nothing had ever come out of that matter.
