Continuing
crime wave... More people moving after another attack at Coldingen
The
robbers carted off an
undisclosed sum of
money, jewellery and
household articles,
one of the victims, Brijanand
Baksh told the
Chronicle. He
said their ordeal
started about 19:30
hrs (7:30 p.m.) when
three armed men, clad
only in short pants,
stormed into their Lot
20 Coldingen home. Baksh,
still visibly shaken
Wednesday, said they
were just about going
to bed when the
bandits struck. Prior
to then, he had heard
voices outside the
house but paid no
attention to them
because the one-flat
building, made mostly
of zinc sheets, houses
two families,
including five
children who were
inside. Baksh
said the invaders
gained entry through
the front door and
immediately attacked
his brother Mohammed,
wife Radica and two
children, Avinash and
Shabana. Radica
and Mohammed were
seeking medical
attention at
Georgetown Public
Hospital Corporation
Wednesday, for wounds
suffered at the hands
of their attackers,
who failed in a bid to
forcibly take away
eight-year-old Shabana.
They
ransacked the house
and, not satisfied
with what loot they
gathered, dealt
Radica several blows,
including with a gun
butt. One of the trio
made a stab
at Avinash with a
screwdriver but
the thick jersey the
child was wearing
caused the point not
to penetrate. However,
the 13-year-old
boy was thrown into a
chest of drawers
and commanded to
deliver money as the
men searched and found
some hidden in a
coffee bottle. A
tape recorder, a
bicycle and other
things were also
stolen by the
marauders, before her
parents' pleas
prevented them
abducting the girl who
was screaming all the
time. Baksh
said the robbers next
turned their attention
to the adjoining one-
bedroom apartment
where the male
occupant handed over
$5,000 which they
took, along with a
camera, a 'Casio'
wrist watch valued
$10,000 and more
things.
Baksh
said Tuesday night was
the seventh time his
household had such an
experience. He had
only moved to that
address three days
before but is now
leaving the village
permanently. The
other family has been
residing there for
more than a year
because they have
nowhere else to go,
despite constant
attacks by bandits. Coldingen
and Non Pariel
villages have been
targeted since the
February 23, 2002
Georgetown jailbreak
that saw the start of
the escalating crime
wave. Some
other people in the
Coldingen
neighbourhood were
dismantling their
house Wednesday and
one of them, Sharon
Shirlochan said
she is moving to
Enterprise after three
weeks at the location. "I
came here for a fresh
start, to build this
small house with the
little money I had.
But we have to move
now that the bandits
are around," said
the woman, who was
living there with her
sister and a small
child. Many
more houses in the
vicinity have been
abandoned and locked
up or sold as their
occupants vacated for
the same reason. Another
man, Abdul, who
was attacked in
daylight on Tuesday,
offered that the
absence of electricity
and security makes
Coldingen an ideal
target. Others said they desperately need a Police outpost because where they live is like a backyard to Buxton, from where most of the banditry is launched. |