— wife hospitalised from ordeal
TWO armed male bandits and one female accomplice invaded the private dwelling cum business premises of pensioner Khemchand and his unnamed wife, of Lot 1920 Anna Catherina, West Coast Demerara, at approximately 17:15 hrs on Saturday. And by the end of the ordeal, the unmasked bandits had robbed the business couple of an undisclosed sum of cash, and had beaten them to such an extent that Khemchand’s wife had to be hospitalised for her injuries at a city institution.
Khemchand and his wife operate a beverage store, retailing alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages.
According to Khemchand, a male accompanied by a female walked into the business place and ordered a case of Chubby drinks. The female picked up the beverage, placed it on a table, and began looking around as if she needed something else. While she was doing that, her male companion took out $1,000 to pay for the Chubby; but the woman then asked for a large bottle of rum, and he directed her to where she could get it. Khemchand’s wife then proceeded to assist the woman in getting the beverage, whilst he continued to make the change for the Chubby.
It was then that he heard his wife scream. She had been tossed to the ground by the female bandit, and he immediately realized that something was dreadfully wrong; but before he could move, the woman’s companion placed a gun to his neck and ordered him not to move or make any noise, to which he complied.
After pushing his wife to the ground, the female bandit proceeded to pull in a grill door that separated the couple’s private residence from the business quarters. The man who held Khemchand at gunpoint then proceeded to rifle his pockets, robbing him of more than $300,000, which represented the day’s takings.
Minutes after, Khemchand saw another man walking into the store, before making his way back outside. As that other man walked out of the store, he pulled in the outer grill door, so as to give persons the impression that the business had closed its doors for the day.
Khemchand added that the location of the business is normally busy, yet the bandits took the risk of staging the later afternoon robbery.
Khemchand said he was then directed to the back of the building to join his wife, when he realized that she was lying on the ground in a pool of blood, even as the female bandit continued to beat her. He said he objected to the treatment being meted out to his wife, and that caused him to receive his share of beating, which included cuffs to his face, belly and other parts of his body.
Khemchand said he informed the bandits that they had no reason to hurt anyone, as they just had to make their demands and those would be met, but those words did not restrain the bandits.
He said the female bandit may have beaten his wife because she wanted to know where the money was located. The man added that he and his wife were not in the habit of keeping large amounts of cash at home. Nevertheless, there were two black bags in the house containing money to purchase stocks for the business. He said the beating of his wife was not called for, as the money was not hidden, but was sitting near the bed, and could have been easily spotted.
Asked the amount of money the black plastic bags contained, the man said he was not sure, but that his wife would have been in a better position to disclose that.
Khemchand explained that the bandits were not masked when they entered the business place, but they proceeded to cover his face with a bag. Throughout the ordeal, his wife was not fully aware of what was happening, as she was knocked unconscious when she received the first blow.
The man added that when he was taken to the back of the premises, where the female bandit had his wife, he did not see anything that the bandit may have used to beat his wife, yet his wife had several bruises and cuts to her face.
When this publication visited the scene on Sunday, the police were making their first appearance on the crime scene, despite the robbery having taken place almost twelve hours earlier.
Khemchand was heard explaining to the investigating rank that a customer visited his store on Sunday morning, and when he informed the man that he had been robbed the previous afternoon, the man acknowledged seeing a woman talking on her cell phone in front of the business premises; and, seconds later, a yellow cab arriving and taking her and another man away from the premises.
Khemchand said the robbery has left him penniless. He recalled being similarly robbed several years ago, when a customer had entered the premises and requested a beverage; and as he attempted to attend to the customer, he was robbed. He said that he has since been taking measures to protect himself and his business, but bandits seem to have a vested interest in him.
The man said this latest ordeal has caused him to strongly consider closing the operations down and living on the old age pension offered by the government. Over the years, he has received several expressions of interest from persons who wanted to rent the property, and he is now likely to explore that option, since he prefers to do that rather than operate a business that puts the lives of himself and his wife at risk.
The police are said to be investigating the matter, and plan to question several persons. When asked by the investigating rank if he would be able to identify the robbers should he see them again, Khemchand responded in the affirmative.