Family tied up, tortured on farm

Doused with boiling water and tasered

BOUND, beaten and then burnt.

The Raghoo family from Newcastle had always seen these headlines in the news. Last week, however, it became their reality when four men with handguns allegedly invaded the two houses on their Lenteson cattle farm and attacked the family.

Anil Raghoo, 70, his wife Nirmala, 67, their grandson Kaylin, a matric pupil, and their daughter-in-law Sanusha became victims in broad daylight.

Mornè Potgieter, Ithemba Security’s operational director, who was first on the scene, said the Raghoos’ had a shop on the farm where they sold frozen foods like Russian sausages.

He said the attackers entered the premises and pretended to be customers.

Even though the family indicated that the shop was closed, the men forced Raghoo, his wife and grandson into their house and tied them up. At that stage, their daughter-in-law was not at home.

Potgieter said the family was tied up with clothes and then beaten.

The robbers then repeatedly tortured the family by alternatively dousing them with boiling water and using a Taser on them.

A Taser is a weapon, which is used to shock and incapacitate those it is used on. It can also leave the victims weak, dizzy and nauseous and in some cases, the effects take hours to wear off.

He said the men boiled a kettle of water and every time they asked Raghoo where they could find cash, they would pour it over him, scalding his head and face.

A while later their daughter-in-law arrived on the farm and went to her house, which was about 50m from the one in which the rest of her family were held captive.

Potgieter said she had no idea what was happening and was approached by one of the men, who pretended to need a glass of water.

He overpowered her and she was tied up and taken to where the others were held.

Potgieter said one of the attackers searched her car and found the Taser device which was then used to torture the family.

Potgieter said before fleeing the scene, the men slashed the tyres of two vehicles belonging to the Raghoos so that they could not drive. They could also not phone for help because all their cellphones were stolen.

Potgieter said they arrived first on the scene after the incident, which apparently lasted about an hour-and-a-half.

They found the family in shock and injured.

Raghoo’s face was covered with blisters, while the others had white marks on their skin where they had been burnt with the Taser.

Potgieter said that northern KwaZuluNatal experienced about four attacks each year.

“Farmers must take security into their own hands. They need contingency safety plans and they must get armed. If the Raghoos had a firearm and they were able to use it, things might have turned out very differently,” he said.

POST has learnt that Raghoo and his wife were discharged from hospital but that he saw the doctor regularly to have his wounds dressed. The family members were all experiencing considerable trauma because of the assault.

The Raghoo family had lived on the farm for about 30 years and even though they had tried to sell the farm in the past, they had not managed to do so yet.

Elma Rabe, the DA’s agriculture spokesperson, said it was a relief that the family survived as they had all been repeatedly choked.

“It’s a matter of when, not if the next farm attack will happen. The attackers generally use pangas, knives, screwdrivers and guns on their victims. The brutal nature of these attacks is scary,” she said.

The criminals had arrived at the farm in a white Hyundai Atos.

Rabe said it appeared as if they had been watching the Raghoo farm for a while, which was why they knew that it could be accessed with a small car and they would not need a bakkie or 4x4.

She said for several years the DA had continuously asked the government to establish a unit to investigate rural attacks, not just for the safety of farmers but farmworkers as well. To date, however, this has not been done, she said.

“Without farmers, KZN’s people will not be able to feed their families. The safety of our rural communities must be addressed or the future of our province will become even bleaker,” said Rabe.

Lieutenant-Colonel Nqobile Gwala, a provincial police spokesperson, confirmed that Newcastle police were investigating a case of house robbery.

She said the complainant was in their farmhouse on the N11 when a vehicle with four males entered the premises.

Gwala said the men asked for the owner (Raghoo) who came out.

“At gunpoint, they forced the owner to the house and tied up the family members. They were assaulted and the owner was also burnt with boiling water as they were demanding cash.”

Gwala said the men fled with money, cellphones, a jacket and car keys.

Police have appealed to anyone with information relating to the matter to contact their local police or Crime Stop at 08600 10111.