Pensioner, 83, brutally attacked at home

Senior Reporter

kevon.felmine@guardian.co.tt

“Doh make no noise,” a masked man shouted as he brutally chopped and planassed 83-year-old Balkaran Barban during his morning exercise at his Penal home on Sunday.

Without demanding valuables or taking anything, the attacker and his accomplice fled Barban’s home along Rochard Road, leaving him bleeding from a deep head wound.

Sitting on a bed on his front porch yesterday, clutching his chest, Barban recounted the harrowing ordeal to Guardian Media. He explained that he had to visit the San Fernando General Hospital for an X-ray to determine if he had internal injuries. He also sustained a cut on his finger and bruises on his feet.

Barban said he was walking in his yard around 9 am when a white Nissan Tiida drove through the open gate. Within moments, a man exited the front passenger seat and launched the assault with a cutlass.

As Barban fell to the ground, his cries for help were stifled by the attacker’s threatening words.

“While bawling on the ground, he said, ‘Do not make noise,’ and took my hand by my face there. That is all. That happens in seconds, and they are gone,” Barban said.

Still in pain, he described the ongoing medical process:

“I have to get an X-ray, and I have to go back to San Fernando to do this thing and print out all these things. They are telling me I have to go back there again.”

Barban, who said he has no known enemies, said he was baffled by the reason for the attack. He faced violence 30 years ago when bandits stole his firearm.

His daughter, Leela Balkaran, said she was standing by the refrigerator when she saw the masked man emerge from the car and began chopping her father. Helpless, she could only scream. As neighbours came out of their homes, the attackers fled.

“It is over-frightening, dangerous because I’m scared to even come outside now,” Balkaran said.

Police met the family at the Siparia District Health Facility, where Barban was receiving medical attention. Officers could not take a full statement as Barban needed to see a doctor. When he returned to the health facility yesterday morning, he only received a referral letter to the San Fernando General Hospital for an X-ray and further evaluation.

A retired tractor and truck driver, Barban also worked as a farm labourer in Canada before returning to Trinidad, where he later worked as a PH taxi driver until qualifying for his pension. He said his family, who has lived in the area for 22 years, has no property or personal disputes.

Leela noted recent attacks on a bar and a grocery nearby but could not confirm whether the same men were involved. She added that the terrifying ordeal has left her uneasy about staying at home.

Barban said he could not identify the suspect since he was masked and wore gloves.

Barrackpore police are investigating but have not identified a motive or arrested any suspects up to last evening.

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