Harnek Singh Mann does not recall the moment robbers took off with goods and cash from his liquor store in Otara. He was lying unconscious on the ground.
He had been knocked out moments earlier after one of the assailants struck his face with a gun during the loot on May 26, 2023.
Harnek, who owns a Liquor Baron outlet at Ferguson Road, told The Indian Weekender he was standing at the entrance at about 6.15pm when an SUV pulled up outside his store.
“The driver stayed inside the car while three others jumped out and rushed towards me. One of them had a revolver, while another was carrying a rifle-like weapon. He hit me on the side of my face.”
The 47-year-old says he regained consciousness about five minutes later, when his nephew who was at the cash till narrated him the tense moments after he had passed out.
“The man who hit me ended up accidentally firing a shot into the ceiling. My nephew had taken up the store job only two weeks ago, and he hid under the till out of fear.”
His nephew had neither the time nor the courage to set off the security alarm and the fog cannon they had installed about a fortnight back.
The government recently announced additional subsidy for small businesses to install fog cannons at premises, a move officials said will be a deterrent in case of a robbery. Several store owners have said the scheme might not be as effective as claimed.
Harnek says within a matter of minutes the robbers had scooted with 10 cartons of cigarettes, 15 pouches of loose tobacco and about $1,600 from the till.
He was taken to a Middlemore hospital with multiple fractures in the upper jaw, and he has been on a liquid diet since then as he is unable to chew. He was scheduled to undergo a facial surgery.
On June 8, the police said they had arrested two of the assailants, aged 26 and 36, from Otara and recovered a firearm. The two were allegedly also involved in an aggravated robbery a few days later at a liquor store in Papatoetoe.
Detective Inspector Karen Bright described the arrests as a reminder to those looking to cause harm to local businesses that there are consequences.
“Police are actively investigating these serious incidents and will continue to bring resolutions to those who have been impacted.”
But that assurance falls flat for Harnek, who moved to New Zealand from Chandigarh in 2006 and lives in Auckland with his wife and two children.
“My family initially thought I was hit by a bullet. They were shocked and scared. They have been telling me to sell off the shop and find a safer business. But I can’t, given the cost-of-living-crisis,” he says.
Before opening the liquor store in 2011, Harnek started out driving a taxi. It is not the first time his store has been targeted, he says, as shoplifting is common.
Apart from the mental trauma, the latest robbery has put considerable cost pressures on him. His shop was either closed or opened only partially the next few days after the attack.
“I have had to get the cashier section redone and install a new security door and lock. I would say I have had to spend a total of about $18,000 to get the store working again fully,” he says.
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