Venkat Raman
Auckland, July 20, 2017
An Indian woman showed presence of mind and courage to ward off armed intruders who tried to make good with the till money in their Takeaway outlet in West Auckland last weekend.
Varsha Patel, who owns ‘Sunnyville Takeaways’ based in Henderson along with her husband Vijay, managed to hold off two offenders last Saturday and raise alarm among the public.
Young offenders
“It was around 8 pm (on Saturday, July 15, 2017) that two young men walked into our store and tried to run away with our till which had some cash. One of them had a knife hanging around his neck and threatened to use it if I did not allow them to take the money. I was scared at the outset because I had my two young children in the shop at that time in view of the school holiday. It was a terrible experience,” she said.
Varsha said that as the two young men ran out of the store, she followed them, yelling, ‘Thieves! Help!”
“A number of people came tour help. The thieves ran away. Fortunately, no one was injured and nothing was last,” Varsha said.
Reassuring candidate
She said that the Police visited the scene thereafter and recorded details of the incident.
National Party’s candidate for Kelston visited the store today, met Varsha, Vijay and their sons and assured them that he would work with his Party and the law-enforcing authorities over the incident.
“Bala was really reassuring. He had called us earlier to inquire about our welfare and spent time with us today. We are really grateful to him. He has genuine concern for the safety of our communities in Kelston and does not do lip service,” Varsha said.
Mr Beeram said that young offenders were a problem in Kelston and that his Party was committed to bringing them to justice.
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Photo Caption:
National Party’s Kelston Candidate Bala Beeram with Vijay and Varsha Patel and their sons Krish and Jaden at their store in Henderson this evening.
(Picture supplied)
