THE Pillay family from Caversham Glen, has been left traumatised after three thugs hijacked their Chevrolet Captiva on Sunday 2 February at approximately 12.30pm.
Nadia, the eldest daughter, and her boyfriend, Tariq Buckas, were switching the two vehicles that were parked in the family’s narrow driveway. “Tariq’s Toyota Tazz was sparked behind my Chevvy. He had reversed his car outside onto the pavement as well as mine when the three men were walking down the street,” said Janice, Nadia’s mother.
Nadia reported that she was sitting in the driver’s seat of the Toyota, which was idling, and watched the three men walk past her. “At one point one man produced a gun and they went straight for Tariq in the Chevvy. The man with the gun pulled the Chevvy’s driver side door open and held the gun against Tariq’s head and demanded that he get out of the car. He held his hands up and begged them not to shoot and they yanked him out of the vehicle. The most horrifying part is that one of the other men kept egging on the man with the gun to shoot Tariq. I just remember screaming,” said Nadia.
Janice had been inside the property, holding their dog to prevent him from running out of the yard. When she heard her daughter’s screams she ran inside the house to press the panic button. “I was so terrified. I could not remember where the panic button was. Luckily, our neighbour witnessed the hijacking and phoned the police. Her husband is also a policeman, so she shouted to him to go and grab his gun,” she said.
Subsequently, the thugs jumped into the vehicle and sped off. Tariq also jumped in his vehicle and followed the hijackers, but lost them near Nasareth, Pinetown. The vehicle was later recovered in Dassenkoek, Mariannhill.
The Pillay family are terrified that the hijackers will return and have, subsequently, decided to move. “We feel exposed and our privacy has been violated. Our home no longer feels safe,” said Janice.
The family would like to thank a couple who were at a function at the Brown’s school, who also witnessed the hijacking and phoned the Ashley Residents Neighbourhood Watch. “The watch patrollers responded very quickly and were supportive and helpful. We are also grateful to the police and our neighbours who helped,” said Janice.
