Khrishnadat Singh, an auto spares dealer, is thankful that his life was spared following an armed robbery at his business place at Lot 336 Quamina and Cummings Streets, South Cummingsburg in Georgetown.

Yesterday, at about 13:00 hrs, the 32-year-old businessman was in his establishment, Khrishna Auto Spares, tending to customers when a man walked in wearing a toque and brandished a .38 Nickel revolver. Two customers, a friend and Singh’s wife, Nadira, were in the shop at the time. The gunman warned the customers that, “I ain’t come for y’all, is he (Singh) I want.”

Singh said that the man, whom he recognised as being part of a group that was in his shop a few minutes earlier, pointed the revolver to his face and relieved him of jewellery valued at about $300,000 and a cellular phone valued at $65,000.
“I throw my two rings on the ground to create a distraction, but the customers run out of the store and then the bandit run out seconds after.” The man, Singh said, made good his escape as a pillion rider on a black 250cc motor scooter.
Singh said that he also observed that another motor cycle - a CG 125 - also sped away from the scene at the same time. He said, “They (the motor cycle riders and the bandit) were in the store just about ten minutes before the robbery and asked the cost of an item and then they left.” The matter was reported to the Alberttown Police Station.

The business has been in operation since 2005, and had been the target of an attempted robbery last year. On that occasion, two men walked into the store and Singh observed that one had a gun. According to the businessman, upon recognising that a robbery was about to happen, he ran away and concealed himself.
Following yesterday’s incident, Singh said that there is need for more frequent police patrols in the area.