PICS: Indian consul general's family in shock after robbery

Indian Consul General Shashank Vikram shows the damage done to India House by eight armed robbers who had terrorised his family. Picture: Krisendra Bisetty

Indian Consul General Shashank Vikram shows the damage done to India House by eight armed robbers who had terrorised his family. Picture: Krisendra Bisetty

Published Nov 18, 2017

Share

The family of India’s Consul General in Durban, Dr Shashank Vikram, has been left traumatised after eight robbers armed with guns and crowbars invaded their home, holding their 5-year-old son hostage on Thursday afternoon.

A catastrophic lapse in security for such a high profile diplomatic family is now being investigated at the highest levels after the Consul General’s official residence, India House, in Morningside, was breached for the first time in its long history, and seemingly so easily.

This is despite protection offered by SAPS’ VIP Unit, a private guarding company and a private armed response provider.

Vikram said that with India House being a diplomatic establishment, the robbery, which he described as a “very rude shock”, should not have happened.

“Durban is home to us and we are very comfortable here. We never expected that such a thing would transpire. That is why I think it has come as a very rude shock. This is the first time India House has been intruded like this.”

Indian Consul General Shashank Vikram shows the damage done to India House by eight armed robbers who had terrorised his family. Picture: Krisendra Bisetty

Vikram said the armed response officers had arrived only after about 15 minutes of the alarm being activated. Police arrived only after he had called them.

They took away surveillance camera footage.

“They are investigating and I hope they are able to find the culprits,” Vikram said. “And I hope that adequate security is provided to diplomatic establishments in Durban, including India House.”

The intruders had burst into the historic home around 4pm after overpowering and attacking a guard who had gone down to the driveway gate after apparently being summoned.

Vikram’s wife, Dr Megha Singh, and the couple’s two young children were home at the time and were subjected to a terrifying 10 minute ordeal during which their 5-year-old son was held hostage as the robbers demanded money and gold.

Picture: Krisendra Bisetty

The terrified little boy, who had been studying in the reception room with a tutor, was carried at gunpoint and ordered to deactivate the alarm that had been set off by the family’s domestic helper, who was beaten for her courageous act.

The brazen robbers ransacked the sprawling mansion, smashing open a thick, solid door with crowbars.

One grabbed the 5-year-old and hauled him upstairs, where Singh and her 10-year-old son were watching television.

Singh heard unusual sounds coming from downstairs, but when the domestic helper screamed, she realised something was amiss and came out of her bedroom.

What she saw was any parent’s worst nightmare - an intruder, armed with a gun, who was storming up the ancient, ornate wooden staircase. 

With thoughts of how best to save her youngest son racing through her mind, Singh realised, however, that things were about to get much worse.

She slammed the retractable security gate on the upstairs landing shut to call for help - the only hope that they all might be saved.

To her horror, the intruder used a crowbar, bending the gate and forcing it open.

All the while, he demanded jewellery and access to a safe, even though there wasn’t one.

Singh and her older son recoiled into the main bedroom, slamming the door shut and locking it.

Their nightmare continued, however, as they heard the crowbar being used again. The door flung open.

Mother and son had one last chance at safety - an interleading room to which they raced.

Through luck or miracle, Singh had the key with her, as it is normally on the outside of the door. She locked the door and prayed, telling her elder son to hide by lying down flat on the floor.

The intruder tried to force the door open, kicking it and breaking the handle. What seemed liked hours ticked by but it was about seven minutes since the ordeal upstairs began when everything went quiet.

Singh pressed the panic button in the bedroom, but nothing happened. She called her husband, who rushed home from a meeting in uMhlanga.

Vikram got there before the armed security officers or police did.

The security officers arrived about 15 minutes after the alarm had gone off, he said. “It says a lot that there was no response.”

The intruders had fled, via the kitchen door whence they had entered, within 10 minutes. They had run down an embankment and into their getaway car, taking along a cellphone and possibly some small items.

When POST arrived at the home shortly after the incident, several police officers and guards were present. But not one of them stopped the car or asked any questions, raising more questions about why security was so lax.

On the wooden porch a police tape fluttered in the icy wind.

Inside, school books lay scattered on the floor of the reception room, evidence of how a young boy’s studies were interrupted by ruthless intruders.

Consulate officials, looking worried, paced about the front of the mansion late into the night as the young couple, shocked by their first encounter with hardened SA criminals, prepared to spend the night at a hotel, where it was safer.

“It was a terrifying experience,” said Singh.

Vikram said that “by the mercy of God” that none of them were hurt.

“They took my youngest son hostage and also beat up my staff and they showed their guns to my wife,” he said. “We are still trying to come to terms about what has happened.”

The family are also still trying to evaluate what possessions were taken, he said, adding that several doors were damaged. 

“The greatest damage is the psychological damage which has happened to the family.”

Consulate staff met with the private security company today to find out what had gone wrong.

Nad Rangiah, manager at AddX, which provides the guard at India House, said last night he was “too tired” to discuss the matter. He referred enquiries to his boss, Lee-Ann Weston.

Weston told POST she runs a legitimate guarding company and not an armed response company. 

“It saddened myself to see how affected the family are as they are not South Africans and our country has not kept them safe,” she said.

However, she did not answer any of the 16 questions posed by POST.

The armed response company had not yet commented.

The Post

Related Topics: