Lower Hutt dairy farm owner ‘terrified’ after violent robbery

“Suddenly everything happened.”

Speaking to RNZ, she described a chaotic scene where men stormed the store, smashing the countertop and sending glass flying.

Surrounded, with nowhere to go, she was pushed to the ground as the group rushed to reach the cigarette stand and behind her.

“I was in the middle, they tried to kick me on my stomach and on my back. It was really bad.

“I have bruises all over my body from the kicks… cuts on my hands from the glass.”

Gandhi said the men took the cash register, containing an estimated $2,100 from weekend sales, and emptied the cigarette cabinets.

She estimated the total loss at between $25,000 and $30,000.

She said that although the entire incident lasted less than two minutes, the mental scars remained and she was left too traumatized to enter the store.

“When I go in there, the whole thing flashes before my eyes. At night I can’t sleep well because I feel terrified.

“Even a small bang… really hurts me.”

Gandhi said she felt especially trapped because the dairy was also her home.

“I want to go somewhere, but where can I go? Because this is a business and a home together.”

Gandhi said police had conducted a forensic investigation and the couple had been flooded with community support since reopening today.

“Our neighbors and customers have come to talk to us personally. They brought so many flowers.”

Community in shock

Shreya and Dhruvin Gandhi bought the Knight’s Rd property a year ago and said although they had heard of attacks on dairy farmers in other parts of the country, they never thought it would happen to them.

Neighbor Rebecca Stephen said the incident was the first she was aware of in her 20 years of visiting the Two Ten dairy. She couldn’t believe how brutal it was.

“It was shocking, it was terrible. I’ve been going to that dairy for about twenty years and have never seen it like this.

“(Something) so gruesome, and so brutal, at that time of day.”

Stephen said she heard screaming and shortly afterwards three police cars and an ambulance came by.

“There were tons of people around, all the neighbors came running out and gathered around her to make sure she was okay.

“We love them, they are new owners but they have been so good to us. They are like family to us here. It’s really sad.”

The neighboring mental health facility, Mix, organized a card for the Gandhis to show the support of its staff.

Facilitator Victoria, who asked to be known only by her first name, said she felt especially sorry for Shreya Gandhi.

“It’s just so devastating and traumatizing for her. Everyone here is shocked that it happened.”

Police concerned about ‘level of violence’

Police said they were “very concerned about the level of violence experienced by those involved” and were still investigating the aggravated robbery.

They said at least four masked men entered the Knight’s Rd dairy at 6.41pm on November 17 and assaulted the female shopkeeper before making off in a stolen vehicle with cash, cigarettes and other items.

Police said the vehicle was dumped at the corner of Totara Cres and Rangiora St before the offenders got into another stolen vehicle which was later dumped on Parliament St.

A police dog was unable to track down the perpetrators after they fled on foot.

Officers are reviewing CCTV footage, speaking to witnesses and asking anyone who may have seen suspicious behavior in the area to contact them.

They can be reached anonymously on 105 or via Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111, with reference number 241117/8174.

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