Pensioner nursing ripped earlobe; traumatised following armed robbery

What would have been a peaceful evening for 74-year-old Savitri Devi Umrao turned out to be a horrific night for her and her 70-year-old relative with a disability.

Umrao of Number Three Settlement, West Bank Berbice, was left traumatised and nursing a ripped earlobe after two men, armed with knives, barged in to her premises demanding cash and jewellery.

Police said Umrao detailed that on December 19 at approximately 19:30hrs, she was in the lower flat of her home with her relative and neighbour when two unidentifiable men, dressed in dark hoodies and masked, entered from an open door.

One of the men, armed with a knife, then grabbed Umrao by her neck, held the knife to her throat and pummelled her to the ground. He reportedly shoved his fingers down her throat and demanded that she hand over all her cash and jewellery, but she told him she did not have any cash.

The suspect then ripped off the gold earrings she was wearing, severing a piece of her earlobe in the process. He then pushed her to the ground once more and climbed on top of her chest while demanding she reveals to him the whereabouts of her grandson Mohammad Laikhraj called David, a Bee-Keeper, of Zorg-En-Hoop, Blairmont, West Bank Berbice.

While Umrao was being assaulted, the second suspect pushed the male neighbour to the floor and both men made good their escape.

Umrao’s daughter, Rehanna Umrao, told the News Room that her mother is still in pain from Sunday night’s ordeal. She disclosed that her mother called her on the phone minutes after the men left and revealed what had taken place.

She said she tried making contact with the Blairmont Police Station several times, but that was unsuccessful. The daughter later learned that the phone at the station is “out of order.”

Rehanna said she rushed to her grandmother’s residence and they decided to take her to the police station; there she was given a document to visit the hospital for a medical.

However, the woman said she is not pleased with the treatment her mother received.

She revealed that the wound on her mother’s ears was not “dressed or cleaned” and that they “just examined her and give her medication.”

No examination was done on her mother’s chest, she said. The injured woman was sent away and they returned to the station where statements were taken. The woman said that the police only showed up at the house just before noon.

Four gold rings valued at G$125,000, one pair gold earrings valued at G$25,000 and one pair of gold bangles valued at G$87,500, a total value of G$237,500 were stolen.