Pensioners robbed of $1M in jewellery and cash by bandits posed as customers 

By Royan Abrams

An elderly Corentyne couple was attacked and robbed of $1M worth in jewellery and an undisclosed sum of cash by three men who visited a shop that the couple operate and posed as customers at about 15:00 hours on Friday December 09,2016.

News Room understands that at the time of the attack 67- year- old pensioner Pushwatti Bhagaloo of Lot 20 Section ‘B’ #73 Village Corentyne, Berbice was in her shop attending to customers while her husband a 73- year- old pensioner was sitting underneath their house.

According to information received, the elderly couple resides in a two storey wooden and concrete building in a fenced yard. They also operate a shop which is located about three feet from the fence.

News room was told that the victims were sitting under their house before a white car pulled up at the shop during which a male exited and ordered a bottle of drink from Mrs. Bhagaloo who went to the shop to attend to the customer.

Another male later exited the vehicle with a hammer in his hand and requested cups from the woman but was told that she had none and he went back into the motorcar and returned with his own cups, after which the two men poured the drink into the cups and paid the woman $500.

However, it was when the woman turned her back and while in her yard to get the change for the suspect that she was attacked and hit to the head by one of the suspects, who was armed with the hammer. He demanded cash and jewellery and in the process dragged the elderly woman into the lower flat bedroom where he ransacked the room, while the other two bandits went to the upper flat of the building where they found a quantity of jewellery in a drawer worth $1M and over $200,000 in cash and then escaped.

The police were called in and the place was dusted and photographs taken of the scene.

The elderly woman was rushed to the Skeldon Public Hospital where she was treated and sent away.

So far no arrests have been made but investigations are ongoing.