Freelance Contributor
After being beaten and terrorised by bandits, robbery victim Nalini Sukdeo is appealing for more police patrols in her community of Felicity, Chaguanas.
Sukdeo, 42, along with her sister, Riana, 43, and Riana’s husband Moonieram Gangaram, 53, were robbed and beaten severely about their bodies, after bandits entered the family’s home around 3.15 am on Friday.
Recalling the horrific incident on Saturday, Nalini told Guardian Media, “We got up hearing my nephew screaming around 3.15 am or so and when we ran out of the rooms it was because there were four men in the house, one was with my mom, one was with my nephew and two ran down the corridor towards us.
“From there, they hit us a few times, they kept asking for money, for jewellery. They took us in one room, they kept demanding money and jewellery while hitting my brother-in-law and probably in ten minutes, they left with whatever they got.”
Nalini said because she started screaming, the men started beating her as she fought back.
“There were two of them, one was hitting me in my face while I was struggling with him and the other one came and hit me in my head several times, on my ear and to the back of my head.”
Nalini said one’s home is supposed to be a safe place and they may never recover mentally from their ordeal.
“You are sleeping at 3.15 am, you are not expecting people to come into your home and do this, it is very frightening and traumatising. Every little noise you hear now, you are going to get up and look around, it may take a while to get where you should be.”
Giving an example of her state of mind, Nalini said she was awakened by the sound of dogs barking and someone screaming on Saturday morning. At that point, she thought someone else was getting robbed.
“It’s not a good feeling, especially when you have elderly people and children at home.”
She said treatment was long and tedious at the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, Mt Hope, where they had to wait several hours for the results of CT scans that she and Moonieram had to undertake.
Nalini said Moonieram was coping despite being strangled and beaten about the head.
“We have to take precautions, these are the people who look at where we live, the look at how we were getting in our homes, the time we were doing stuff so, the look at the pattern.”
She said the community of Felicity has changed since a large number of people are renting apartments in the area.
“Neighbourly concern is no longer there,” she said.
Felicity/Endeavour councillor and spokesman for the Felicity Community Patrol Sundar Jookoo said he was disgusted at the level of crime being perpetrated against women in T&T.
He said, “Women are being beaten, in Tobago in the last week or so, two women were murdered.”
Jookoo said crime is on the rise in Felicity, adding several taxi drivers were also robbed and there is no proactive support from Government to facilitate counselling for victims of crime.
Also contacted yesterday, Mayor Faaiq Mohammed said, “The recent heinous break-in at the Gangaram household, resulting in physical injuries and profound mental trauma, has underscored the dire need for immediate action to address the escalating threat of organised crime in our nation.
“It is with grave concern that we highlight the brazenness of criminal elements, who not only possess advanced firearms but also have the means to outmanoeuvre law enforcement with operational vehicles. This alarming trend poses a significant challenge to our efforts to maintain public safety and security.”
He added, “In light of these developments, we urgently call upon the Minister of National Security and the Commissioner of Police to prioritise the equipping of our law enforcement officers with the necessary tools and resources to effectively combat this threat. It is unacceptable that citizens are left vulnerable due to a lack of vehicles at police stations, hindering our ability to respond promptly to incidents and patrol our communities effectively.
“Furthermore, we advocate for the allocation of additional municipal police officers to bolster law enforcement presence across our communities. With only a handful of officers currently tasked with patrolling the entirety of Chaguanas, it is evident that more manpower is needed to ensure the safety and security of our residents.”