RUTHLESS gun-toting bandits on Monday night robbed former University of Guyana Deputy Vice-Chancellor Tota Mangar of his vehicle.The incident occurred just outside Colgrain House on Camp Street, in downtown Georgetown.

‘A’ Division Commander Clifton Hicken yesterday confirmed that no one has as yet been arrested for the crime, nor has the vehicle, a silver-grey Toyota Escudo, been located.
When contacted yesterday by the Guyana Chronicle, the former GNNL Board Member said he was still traumatised by the whole ordeal.
He explained that he had been invited by long-time friend and fellow Essequibian, Roy Brummel, to a ceremony at Moray House to launch two of his books.
Brummel has recently returned from the United States of America (USA), Mangar said, and as such he was happy to see him. Not only are they close friends, but they also studied together at UG, and played cricket together too.
Mangar said that after the ceremony, he collected copies of the books, chatted briefly with Brummell, Paloma Mohammed and Vanda Radzik before leaving.
He’d gotten as far as opening the door to the vehicle, which was parked outside Moray House on Camp Street, and placing the two books and his cellular phone on the back seat, when he was simultaneously accosted by two men.

“The one at the back door come in quickly and put a knife to my throat, and the other one come and put a gun to my face,” the traumatised Mangar said.

Having complied with their request, he said, they quickly drove off with his vehicle, leaving him stranded.

“Immediately I ran across the road and alerted them (at Moray’s House), and the police were contacted,” he said.

Mangar said he was caught by surprise, since he never expected such a bold approach in an area where traffic is always heavy. He had not noticed anyone around when he approached his vehicle, he said, or he would not have opened his car.

“This thing happened so quickly. The one with the knife was quick to put the knife to my neck,” he said. “They weren’t around the vehicle when I approached it. They were probably lurking around that avenue, waiting for a victim and they saw me at that time.”

He said he had purchased the Suzuki Escudo online from a Japanese company while he was Deputy Vice Chancellor at the University of Guyana, and the vehicle is rare in the country.

“I don’t know if the motive is to do some robbery with it, or if they just want to strip the car,” he told the Chronicle. He said the slick operation of the bandits left him with the impression that they are seasoned criminals.

(Shauna Jemmott)