Daring Corentyne robbery

–  douse woman with kero before shoot-out with Police It was a movie-style operation as eight heavily armed bandits violently  entered   the home in which Public Security Minister and

The bullet holes in the Police vehicle which came under fire

Vice President Khemraj Ramjattan was born and raised at Number 48 Village, Corentyne, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) early Wednesday morning. The village was almost asleep as a power outage had forced residents to turn in early when the incident occurred.  A sound similar to that of a speedboat engine in operation caused residents to pull their window curtains aside to investigate. Four men, armed with guns, were on the shed of rice farmer and rice mill operator Tagraj Tulshi. They were using a chainsaw to cut a hole into the side of the 38-year-old farmer’s home. Before the hole was complete, gunshots started to ring out. Two other men, also armed with guns, stood guard next to the house and at the entrance to the street, there were two more men heavily armed. In less than two minutes a hole to accommodate an average-sized person was opened and the four men on the roof entered the house. At the time, six persons were at home including Tulshi’s three children ages 12, 8 and 4; his wife, Indranie Takean, 32, and his mother-in-law. The men demanded money, jewellery and other valuables, but had difficulty moving around in the dark house. The eldest child, a girl, was hit with a gun as the children made the bandits’ job more difficult for them by distracting them. Reports are that the bandits were taken to a room and shown a computer, but they did not want that. One of the children also brought a quantity of $20 bills in response to a request for money. Not getting what they desired, one of the four men who were all unmasked took a bottle of kerosene  which they had brought and

The bandits used a chainsaw to cut a hole into the side of the farmer’s house

poured it over Takean, threatening to ignite her if she did not hand over money. The demands were met and $100,000 was scrounged up and handed over as the mother of three said that it was all that she had. Meanwhile, ranks of a Police mobile patrol responded to the report received about the incident in progress. On approaching the scene, they came under fire from the two men who were on the lookout on the Corentyne Highway. The Police returned fire in a heated exchange. The two men managed to escape into the backlands, but not before damaging the Police vehicle. This publication was shown the Police vehicle, which had two huge bullet holes in the side. As the Police were in pursuit of those two gunmen , the other two who had stood guard near to the house made good their escape via the sea coast. Police were unaware that there were four men still in the house. When the Police gave chase behind the two men into the backdam, the four men who were in the house opened the front door and left heading towards the seaside. The entire incident lasted about 20 minutes. Residents say that during the ordeal, shots were fired in the directions of their homes and they also received threats. No arrests have been made as yet, as the investigation continues. Up to press time, the Guyana Times was unable to get a response from the Public Security Minister on the savaging of his childhood home and the occupants who are said to be his relatives.