Some ten weeks after the death of her husband, Corentyne roadside vendor Basmattie Mangru, called “Hanna”, of Alness Village, Corentyne, has had to confront another tragedy when two armed bandits robbed her of her day’s earnings shortly before 20:00h on Tuesday.
Mangru detailed that she was attending to a customer when the bandits pounced on her. They were both masked, and one was armed with a handgun.
“I hear a gunshot fire, and then another one, and one more. When I turned around, I saw a masked man stand up next to me. He didn’t say anything to me, he just stretched out his hand. I had a bag hanging up with some things inside, and he stretched and took down the bag. He pulled my apron, and I told him to hold on, and I took my hand and started to loose it. I told him I was going to give it to him, and while I was loosing it, he just pull it off. It was two of them,” she related.
Not only did Mangru lose her day’s sales, but other cash she had had in her handbag was also taken. She was robbed of approximately $160,000 from her business, and other money she had set aside to pay to a group saving venture was also taken.
Mangru said a car driver was waiting to collect the money for the group saving venture, but she could not have given it to him at the time because she was attending to a customer.
She said the two bandits made good their escape through an empty plot of land that leads to a back street.
“They just walk in like that and put the gun to my side, they didn’t do me anything else. And after they took the apron and they had customers at the stand, they run to go and catch the back street,” Mangru detailed.
She said the car driver who was waiting to collect the money from her gave chase, but by the time he reached to the back street, the bandits had already disappeared.
Mangru said the incident occurred while there were three customers at her stand. She also said the police were quick to respond, but the bandits had long been gone.
Mangru has been vending for some 30 years.
“My husband died ten weeks ago, and I have two children, both going to school; so, I sell here for a daily living,” she said.
Police are investigating this incident. (G4)
