Relative: ‘… they tried to finish her off’
Attackers changed bloodied clothing in store
Dhanwantie Phulchand, a proprietor in the City Mall who was robbed, chopped and battered on Saturday afternoon, was in a stable condition at the Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH) yesterday.
Police have since taken a male and female into custody. The two, according to reports, are members of a gang that hang out and dance in front of the mall’s Regent Street entrance.
Phulchand, who operates Rishma’s Fashion, was admitted to the hospital on Saturday evening. Initial reports said that sometime before 5 pm the woman was alone in her store when the man walked in and demanded cash and items. She refused and the man began chopping her about the body.
When this newspaper visited the City Mall that afternoon, blood was splattered across the floor of the boutique. Other store owners said that the suspect is a known character and had previously attacked another person at the mall.
Stabroek News had reported that Phulchand’s attacker was formerly employed by her. However, relatives yesterday said that the man was never the woman’s employee but previously worked in another of the mall’s stores.
“She wasn’t chopped alone,” one of Phulchand’s relatives said yesterday. “She was beaten too…they tried to finish her off.”
Relatives said that they’d been informed that Phulchand was in a stable condition. The woman’s head was heavily bandaged and she complained of constant pain when Stabroek News visited her shortly after 12 pm yesterday. She is currently a patient of the hospital’s High Dependency Unit (HDU).
Phulchand, relatives said, was attacked by both the male and female. While one chopped her, the other battered her. After the attack, they said, the duo changed their bloody clothing in Phulchand’s store.
“Imagine,” another relative said, “after they finish with her they change their clothes right in the store. They took new clothes from her store and left their dirty ones there. Those are in police custody as well.”
Security, distressed relatives pointed out, was practically non-existent at the City Mall. Phulchand’s attacker simply walked in and then calmly left as if nothing had happened.
This, Phulchand’s relatives pointed out, leaves all business owners and employees at great risk. The problem, they stressed, needs to be addressed as soon as possible.
Two of the mall’s stores have entrances on Camp Street and there are two or three other entrances on Regent Street. None of these entrances are manned by a security guard and there are no bag bays in the mall. A person is allowed to walk freely through the establishment and can take any item inside.
Phulchand’s incident, relatives said, has left many of the mall’s proprietors and their employees alarmed.