A gang of bandits numbering around four men have been terrorizing residents of a section of Bel Air Park, sneaking into homes and carting off personal items among other things over the past few months.
The men have been reportedly using an abandoned house in the area as a base from which to launch the attacks and have managed to go undetected until early yesterday morning when a resident caught of one of them in his yard; the same bandit was recorded on close circuit television fleeing the premises.
So far the men have snatched a laptop computer, building materials, and more recently Christmas decorations. The incidents had all been non-violent and the men are usually unarmed, but things turned ugly when resident James Rajroop found one of the men in his yard attempting to break into his home. The bandit reacted by striking Rajroop in the face with several glass bottles.
Rajroop received ten stitches for the deep gash he received just over his left eye as a result of the attack. He was rushed to a city hospital bleeding profusely following the incident, and was later treated and sent away. Unsettled by the incident, but thankful that his injuries were not particularly threatening Rajroop said yesterday that he is hoping the area gets some peace.
He recounted that it was around 12.30pm when he heard a sound downstairs at his home on Barima Avenue and went to investigate. Rajroop initially believed it to be an animal, but came face to face with a man attempting to break into his house. He said the man immediately started throwing things at him.
“He threw a laundry table at me that was out in the yard and cardboard then he gra-bbed the drink and liquor bottles that were nearby… I dodged the bottles but one caught me just above the left eye and broke my spectacle lens,” he recounted.
Rajroop raised an alarm and the man fled the yard escaping into the area behind his home. According to him, the bandits have been carting off things in the area over a period of time but many of the incidents have gone unreported. Bel Air resident, Rudolph Singh has also been a victim of the thefts. He said bandits first targeted his home a few months ago when they stole his laptop computer. The men returned a few days ago and stole the Christmas decorations he put on display outside his home.
Singh said he was forced to install close circuit television after the attacks. The cameras managed to record the bandit who was in Rajroop’s yard, but the picture is not clear enough for the police to use. Rajroop is Singh’s neighbor.
Further, he condemned the situation as a source of discomfort, adding that residents of that section of Bel Air have been targeted for too long. He said the police needed to investigate vigorously and rid the area of the persons who have been attacking them.