Armed bandits invaded a Craig, East Bank Demerara (EBD) house, where they terrorised an elderly couple before escaping with a TV during the wee hours of yesterday morning.
The attack occurred around 2.10 am at the Lot 251 ‘A’ Craig, EBD residence of Mohammed Osman Subhan, 72, and his bedridden wife Khairool Subhan.
The crime was allegedly carried out by a group of five men, two of whom had handguns.
The men reportedly threatened to kill Mohammed if he did not hand over cash and valuables.
However, he pleaded with them not to harm him, while noting that his wife needed him.
Stabroek News was told that the couple was asleep when they were confronted by the bandits.
They later proceeded to ransack the house before they escaped with a 32-inch flat screen television, valued $70,000.
Neaz Subhan, the couple’s son, yesterday told Stabroek News that the attack has left his father traumatised. “They terrorised them, threatened to kill him (Mohammed), put the gun to his head and so on and so on. These are elderly people. He (Mohammed) said he begged and he begged because my mom (Khairool) is bedridden, so he said if they were to kill him, she would be left unattended. So apparently they had a good heart and leave him as that,” Neaz explained.
He said the trauma of the incident was too much for his father. “That scared him and the time that they spend in the home. Having to go through all of that. I never see my father cry all my life but I see him cry this morning. It was very heartbreaking,” Neaz related.
“Pushed around”
Neaz said he learnt of the incident after he received a call from his brother, who told him that the bandits were still in the home.
As a result, he said he immediately contacted the police but he was not pleased in the manner in which they responded to his calls.
He said he initially called the 911 emergency system. “The first place I called was 911 and I wasn’t too happy with what transpired. When I eventually got somebody, the guy (police) put me on hold for maybe a two minutes… and then when he came on, after I explained to him what’s transpiring, he gave me a number for a police station within the jurisdiction,” Neaz recalled.
He said he questioned the rank as to why he was providing him with the number and he was told to call it.
Neaz said it was the number for the Providence Police Station, which had him pushed around. “So Providence was explaining to me now that it was not in their jurisdiction that I should call Grove,” he noted.
Neaz said he then asked if there wasn’t a radio system available that they could use to contact their colleagues from the other station and inform them of the attack. “That person who answered the phone was very cooperative. They said they will do that,” he added.
He said he still ended up calling the Grove Police Station but there too no assistance was given. Neaz said the rank who answered that phone told him that there were only two officers available but there was no patrol.
Eventually, he said he got onto the Force Operations branch, which he said was “very accommodating.” “A patrol came. It came long after. Not because they didn’t want to respond but I think by time they got the message… but you know the people (bandits) gone,” he said.
An investigation has since been launched into the incident. Up to yesterday afternoon no arrest had yet been made.
It was the second attack at the house the couple experienced.
In July last year, bandits had broken into the home but fled empty handed after an alarm was raised.
During that instance, Mohammed was awakened by strange sounds, which he had suspected was coming from his neighbour’s dogs.
On checking, he noticed a crowbar at a door leading to his bedroom. As a result, he called out to his neighbour and informed her of his suspicion that his house had been broken into.
The bandits had attempted to cart off a quantity of items from his storeroom and some food items, which were later discovered in front of the premises.