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Gunmen attack Parfaite grocery

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As the robbers walked off, home owner Takur Dutt Narine and his sons began pelting bottles at them

…escape with over $1M in cash, jewels

FIVE gunmen early Tuesday morning robbed a Parfaite Harmonie, West Bank Demerara grocery of over $1M in cash and jewellery, during which they shot one of their victims and lashed another in the head.

At this point, the bandits discharged a fusillade of bullets, one of which struck Navendra Narine in the foot

Three robbers terrorised the family, who owns White Shop, a landmark grocery in the community, for half hour before they escaped with $400,000 in cash, two gold chains valued at $1M, two gold bands valued $60,000, two gold rings, two cellphones and other items.

Police said in a statement that they are making “stringent and diligent efforts in apprehending five men who robbed the family of cellular phones, cash and jewellery at their West Minister, West Bank Demerara home this morning and also a driver/salesman of his valuables and that of his motorcar, which was shortly after, found.”

The shot victim, twenty years old, who is in a stable condition, is being treated at a medical institution.

Tramautised: Shop owner, Saroj Singh and her youngest son, Navendra Narine, who was lashed in the head with a gun during the robbery

Police said investigations revealed that about 09:30hrs, the forty-eight-year-old self-employed businessman, who operates a grocery shop, was in his shop along with his wife, which is situated in front of their premises, when suddenly; they were pounced upon by three armed men. The bandits escorted the victims into the lower flat of their house, where they also held the victims’ two adult sons, before ransacking the house and left with an undisclosed amount of cash and valuables aforementioned. Shortly after the bandits departed, the grocer and his sons pursued them, during which encounter, the bandits discharged several rounds, one of which struck the twenty-year-old son, forcing them to abandon their chase.

Further investigation revealed that the bandits, who whilst fleeing, were joined by two other armed accomplices. They stopped a motorcar driven by a forty-seven-year-old salesman, relived him of his cash, cellular phones and that of his vehicle and fled the scene. The vehicle was recovered in the said village. Crime scene investigators have retrieved several latent prints and seven spent shells from the crime scenes.

Scale a fence
Meanwhile, when Guyana Chronicle visited the scene businesswoman, Saroj Singh, related that as per norm, she opened for business and at about 09:30hrs three men walked in and asked to make a purchase of 2lbs of plantains. Mrs. Singh added that before she could tend to them, one of the men drew a handgun and ordered her, two sons and husband into the house. Realising it was a robbery she ran to the back of the yard and scaled a fence and went to a neighbour’s house while screaming for help, but people were afraid to render assistance since the men were armed.

The bedroom on the lower flat of the house, which was ransacked by the bandits

She related that the trio took her sons, Rakesh and Navendra Narine and husband, Takur Dutt Narine into the bottom flat of the house and they ransacked a bedroom for valuables. Mrs. Singh stated that the robbers spent some time in the house searching for money and jewels and in the process lashed her youngest son, Navendra Narine in his head with a gun: her husband was also beaten about the body. The men then calmly left the shop and joined by a fourth man began walking down the street as residents and other onlookers began converging on the scene. The homeowners rushed out behind them throwing glass bottles, to which the men retaliated by discharging a volley of bullets at them, with one bullet striking Rakesh Narine in the left foot.

Eyewitnesses say that when vehicles gathered on the scene blocked the passage of an apparent getaway car, the bandits walked, hijacked a black X-Trail sport-utility vehicle, PWW 1516 driven by Republic Bank salesman, Gary Halley. They took away Halley’s wallet and two cell phones and ordered him out of the vehicle but exited it several streets away, where a car arrived with two other armed men and they escaped.

A resident said she saw four men exiting the black vehicle which they had hijacked and left it parked in front of her house, but did not take it for anything. It was after sometime she learnt there was a robbery in the village. She explained that she thought the men were

The vehicle which was hijacked by the bandits after the robbery and abandoned several streets away (Michel Outridge photos)

construction workers because they all had haversacks, but noticed one of them carrying a carton of Bristol cigarettes.

Mrs. Singh, the owner of White Shop, told this newspaper that the last incident in which the shop was robbed was about five years ago, when the premises was broken into and some articles were taken, including gas bottles. She said that the bandits in Tuesday’s attack were not masked, but were not known to her, even though she has been operating the small grocery in the area for the past ten years. In the aftermath of the incident, her shot son, Rakesh, was taken to the hospital for medical attention.

According to ‘D’ Division Commander, Leslie James, no arrests have yet been made up to press time but they are following several leads.

FM
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