Two armed bandits in the wee hours of Saturday morning broke and entered the Dharm Shala in Albouystown and escaped with millions of dollars worth of construction equipment and other articles, while leaving residents terrified.
Administrator of the benevolent home Kella Ramsaroop told Stabroek News that she learnt about the robbery until 6am the morning. She said that when she went over to the building, at Lot 140 King Edward and Sussex Streets, she was horrified when she saw the destruction. “They broke the main gate…They broke into five rooms and carted off a quantity of items. They went into the dispensary and also a car belonging to one of the carpenters and took out a car battery.
No money was taken, but they took a lot of things that I had stored up for the rooms.
They took carpets, chairs and a lot of things,” Ramsaroop said.
Ramsaroop added that the area was constantly robbed and although there was a lull in the amount of robberies months ago, she said it looks like perpetrators have started targeting the area once more. She said that because the organisation is a non-profit one, it cannot afford to have security.
She stated that she told the police about someone who she suspects might have committed the act, but they have not done anything about it.
According to one of the residents, he was watching television when he heard a loud noise and when he peeped out of the window he saw two men breaking the main gate. He said he hollered “thief,” but apparently no one heard him. Another resident said that he was awakened by the noise and he saw two men, one armed with a cutlass, breaking into one of the rooms downstairs but he was too afraid to call for help.
The residents are now terrified as they were sleeping a few feet from the rooms the bandits broke into.
Meanwhile, several persons in the community said that they were appalled that someone would steal from the home. “Is only somebody wah heartless gon do such a thing. Is old people does deh in there. How yuh gon look to rob the place?” one woman said.
The Dharm Shala is one of the longest existing charities in Guyana, providing meals and housing for the needy and incontinent. It was founded in 1921 by the late Pandit Ramsaroop Maraj.
