Three bandits, who were armed with a gun and crowbars, pounced on a Mibicuri South, Black Bush Polder woman on Saturday, beating her and robbing her of money and a quantity of jewellery before escaping.
Indrawattie Dhanraj, 44, of Lot 157 Mibicuri South, Black Bush Polder lives just one street away from the police station. The woman, a cleaner at the polder’s village office and part time rice farmer, sustained injuries to her back, belly and other parts of her body, as the men dealt her several lashes during the robbery.
Dhanraj told Stabroek News that around 11:30 pm, she was asleep but awoke when she heard footsteps on the zinc roof of her shed, after which she saw someone breaking the window to enter.
She recounted that she immediately started to scream for help. However, the bandit, who by that time had gained entry to her home, ordered her to be quiet. She said the man then started to demand that she hand over all her cash and jewellery. “Me tell am me na get money and gold and them start beat me and ransack the house,” she recounted.
The woman said that the men dealt her several lashes to her back and belly and had placed her 11-year-old son to sit on a chair during the ordeal. She said that she is grateful that her son was not harmed but saddened that he had to witness the entire ordeal.
The bandits carted off a total of $200,000 in cash and jewellery. Dhanraj said that she handed over $60,000 in cash since that was the only money she had.
“When them come in the house, them take abie cutlass, them na come with cutlass, one get gun and one get crowbar and the other one get haversack with crowbar inside it look like,” she related.
Furthermore, she added, “One a them cuss and say me and me neighbours na talk wah me a holla fa, who go come.”
The woman confirmed to Stabroek News that she is not on speaking terms with several persons residing on her street, which suggested that as the bandit knew this, he may be known to the area.
She said that the men escaped at around midnight and she and her son started to walk to the Mibicuri Police Station, which, according to her, is located one dam away. Dhanraj said that she met ranks on the main cross road, who claimed that they were patrolling the area.
Questioned as to whether she had ever seen ranks patrolling through her dam, the woman said no.
Bandits have struck the Black Bush Polder area several times recently. On Thursday evening, another rice farmer, Lennox Ramcharran, 41, of Lot 15 Johanna South, Black Bush Polder, and his family were robbed and beaten. The men, after robbing Ramcharran, held his daughter hostage dur-ing their escape through the dam.
A few hours later, armed bandits attempted to rob Herman Roopnarine, 40, of Lot 35 Johanna North, Black Bush Polder. While attempting to gain entry to Roopnarine’s house, the gunmen discharged several rounds towards the man and his teenage daughters.
Both families had told Stabroek News that they had phoned the Mibicuri Police Station during the robberies but ranks inform-ed them that they could not respond due to the fact that they did not have a vehicle at the station. Ramcharran had said, “If them police had one vehicle them been catch them because when we call and if them been come, them would a catch everything.
“Them been get one vehicle and it bruk up, me na know which corner that thing deh, we na see the jeep one good time now,” the man had said.
Roopnarine had said, “All the time wah them (bandits) deh deh, abie a call the police but them police say them na get vehicle fa come, that them na get nothing fa come now.”
