Black Bush cleaner beaten, robbed by armed men

A cleaner attached to the Black Bush Polder Water Users Association was on Saturday evening beaten and robbed by three armed men in the presence of her 11-year-old son, who is now left traumatised.
Based on reports received, about 23:30h, three men – one of whom was armed with a hand gun and another, a crowbar, made their way into the Lot 157 Mibicuri South Black Bush Polder home of Indrawattie Dhanraj, and demanded cash and jewellery.
According to the 44-year-old mother of one, the men gained entry into the house by removing the louver panes from a front window.
“After I hear someone walking on the zinc outside and I go to the window, I see a person peeping at me from outside and when I holla out for ‘thief’ they say ‘don’t holler’ … when they come inside then tell me ‘What you hollering for, you and nobody around here don’t talk’ and then ask me for the money and jewellery,” she noted.
She reportedly told the men that she did not have money and instead handed over a pair of gold earrings, two gold bangles, four rings and a gold chain.
The men also collected a cutlass and the woman’s mobile phone as they were leaving. According to Dhanraj, the entire ordeal lasted close to two hours.
“They hit me on my neck with a crowbar, one on my hand, one on my foot and about four lashes on my back,” the woman related.
One of the bandits stood guard downstairs while the other two ransacked the house and found about $60,000, which was to be used to purchase seed paddy and to pay workers to sow the paddy.
Before the bandits left the house, they reportedly took her into the yard and it was then she saw the third accomplice, who was unmasked. However, he stayed some distance from her.
“They take me and carry me to the kitchen and tell me to open it and I put on the light, but they tell me to turn it off and they get a torch light that they using. I tell them they could take whatever grocery they wanted, but they say they did not want grocery,” Dhanraj said.
As they left the house, they threatened that if she raised an alarm, they would take her to the backdam and kill her. The woman said she begged for her life.
After the men made good their escape, Dhanraj and her son left the home and headed to the Police Station, but just then she saw the Police patrol. A report was made and the Police launched an investigation.