A bandit was shot dead during an altercation with Barrackpore villagers yesterday, after he and three others robbed Carmen’s Roti Shop.Up to late afternoon, Barrackpore police, led by Insp Lewis, searched the bushes off Sunmanie Trace, where one of the surviving suspects ran after they met resistance. However, he had not been found up to press time.
However, an 18-year-old woman is also in police custody in connection with the robbery.According to residents, two men walked into the roti shop at #2 Junction around 11 am yesterday. After one of the owners realised it was a hold-up, he fought with the bandits and another alerted residents, who chased two of the bandits down Sumanie Trace. However, an altercation took place, resulting in one of the bandits being shot, allegedly by an off-duty prison officer.
Officers of the Praedial Larceny Squad responded and took the injured bandit to the Princes Town District Health Facility, where he died. Investigators said from their preliminary inquiries, they believe he might be Dane Boodoo, of La Romaine. Relating the incident, shop owner Carmen Khan said she was in the staff area when she saw two men enter. Khan said the bandits thought one of the doors were locked, so they went back to the front. She ran inside and told her son two thieves were in the shop. However, she said they ordered two chicken rotis and drinks.“They asked how much the food cost and he said 45 dollars. When he (son) went, they held him by his jersey and pulled him to the ground. They burst open his jersey but he is a strong boy. I ran and said let them shoot me in the road where people could see,” Khan said.She said the bandits grabbed the money from her son’s hands and struck him several times before running off.
According to a resident, as the bandits ran, a car arrived to pick them up. However, the residents caught up to them and one of the bandits was shot. The resident said another bandit eventually ran to a nearby house and asked for water. When the homeowner refused, the man ran into the bushes.
Khan said it was the second time they had been targeted by bandits. She said in 2009, thieves robbed her business and someone called her and told her if the matter went to court they would kill her son.
