A Punjabi family in south Auckland was holed up inside their house Monday night as masked and hooded assailants smashed cars and banged on windows demanding they be let inside.
Monika and son Jashandeep were watching a movie in the living room at their house in Papatoetoe’s Sutton Crescent midnight January 8 when they noticed two cars pulling up the driveway. Monika’s husband Paramjeet Singh was sleeping in another room.
“The cars stopped right outside the main door of our house where we have been staying for more than two-and-a-half years. Two women wearing masks and hooded shirts stepped out, keeping the car’s headlights on,” says Monika.
They began beating on the front door and windows, calling for the family to let them inside the house.
“We immediately called the police. We were told to stay on the phone while the cops arrived. The women stopped after a while and went back, warning they’ll be back again,” adds Monika.
The police arrived after the assailants had driven off. But that wasn’t the end of their misery, as the thugs were to keep their promise.
After the police had left, Jashandeep noticed two cars rolling up the driveway once again. The family rushed to the room right at the back of the house and locked themselves inside.
“We heard one of the assailants moving about near the back door, beating on the windows. Then we heard some windows being broken. We thought that was it, they had entered the house,” says Monika.
Luckily, the sound of glass breaking was from the family’s car parked outside the front door. Seemingly frustrated at not being able to get in, the assailants had smashed the vehicle before driving away.
The family had already called the police the second time that night, and they say cops arrived just as the thugs had left.
“They told us to stay the night at a relative or friend’s house. The police themselves dropped us off at our friend’s place in Papatoetoe. But now we are back at our house and we are worried the thugs might return. The police have not been able to find any details about the culprits,” say Paramjeet.
When The Indian Weekender contacted the police, a spokesperson said, “There was a report of people acting suspiciously outside an address on Sutton Crescent, reported to us at just after midnight. Police are investigating this report.”
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