By Rajani Chaudhary- Australian Indian Radio
BROWN Plains store ‘Salt N Spice’ owner Neelu Sharma came face to face with every shop owner’s worst nightmare, on 30 July at approximately 7pm while she was closing for the evening two robbers yielding a knife entered her shop and demanded money.
Neelu spoke with Australian Indian Radio on how the tragic events of this night has affected her as not only a business owner but as a woman.
On the night of the robbery, Neelu while closing for the night was talking to her husband over the phone when two adults with covered faces entered her shop armed with a knife and demanded she hand over the cash. Standing behind the counter with nowhere to escape one of the assailants held a knife close to her and continued to demand money. Neelu tried to escape and suffered a deep cut to the hand, with bleeding hand she was forced to open the till and give their daily takings. They also demanded her mobile so that she could not get any outside help.
This brave business woman not knowing that the police were on the way drove herself to get medical assistance. Her husband Sumant could hear her screams through the phone and knew something was wrong, he called the police and headed to the shop. The police later questioned Neelu about the incident and are continuing with the investigation.
Sumant and Neelu have worked hard to build their shop up, this cowardly act has left Neelu feeling scared to go into the shop alone. The incident has left her very shaken, she thinks twice before she opens the door even for a family member.
She believes that the robbers thought that she was an easy target being a woman and that she would not fight much. This is something that her and her husband never thought would happen to them or their business. They believed that an Indian grocery store would not be a target for robbery as they don’t hold much cash on the premises. This robbery proves this thinking incorrect.
Neelu and Sumant want to spread this message to the community especially the Indian community not to think that it can’t happen to you. Sumant as a husband and protector wants to warn others about safety, what happened to his wife cannot be changed but we can learn a lesson from it and secure our working environment for women.
Family, friends and customers have been showing support by way of cards and flowers and also listening and encouraging her. Brisbane Indian Times and Australian Indian Radio wish her a speedy recovery and continued success.