“I tried fighting back. Every time he punched me, I punched him back. But he was much stronger..." said Roshini Dwarika.
Image: File picture
A 74-year-old Phoenix woman bravely fought back during a violent home invasion that left her severely injured.
Roshini Dwarika survived a terrifying ordeal where an attacker attempted to set her alight before stealing her belongings. Now recovering at her sister's home, she shared her harrowing experience.
Dwarika was taking her washing off the line when she was attacked by a man, at her home in Foresthaven.
He had allegedly jumped over the wall in the backyard and confronted her. He then pushed her into the house and began to hit her.
“My husband had gone to the Phoenix Plaza and I was alone at home. I was taking the washing off the line when a man suddenly covered my mouth from behind. He then dragged me into the house. He locked the gate and put the keys in his pocket.”
She said he punched her repeatedly.
“I tried fighting back. Every time he punched me, I punched him back. But he was much stronger. I didn’t want to give up. He kept telling me he was going to kill me,” said Dwarika.
“He tried pushing me on the floor and rolling me inside the mat. He wanted to set me on fire. When he took out a box of matches, I was terrified. He just kept screaming that he wanted to kill me.
“When he realised it wasn’t working, he pushed me into the bathroom and started bashing my head on the toilet seat. My head started to bleed and my teeth broke,” Dwarika said.
She said she was held hostage as he looted her home.
“He took my husband’s shirt and tied my hands with it. He gagged my mouth with a pair of socks. He barricaded the door with the couch so I couldn't escape. When I saw him going upstairs, I started trying to untie my hands.
“I somehow got free and ran to the back door where I screamed for help. Thankfully, my neighbours heard me. Just then my husband came home,” she said.
When her husband, Barath Jobraj, 79 saw his wife drenched in blood and dishevelled, he gave her his shirt to cover herself.
“The moment I saw my husband, I knew I was safe. After that I collapsed from exhaustion and shock. When I woke up there were paramedics and police around me.”
She was rushed to Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Hospital with extensive injuries.
“I have broken teeth and head injuries with open wounds. I can’t move my legs and arms and my eye is also swollen. I’m in so much pain.
“In the end, he only stole our cellphones. Yet he caused me so much pain and fear. I can’t eat or walk because of the pain. My sister has to bathe me. I can't even get to the toilet by myself,”
Dwarika is currently staying with her sister, Seela Jeevarathnam, and nephew, Denzil, in Merebank.
“I am not scared to go back to my home because I have my husband. But I have to be extra careful when I go outside. I have to be aware of my surroundings and look out for danger,” said Dwarika.
Seela Jeevarathnam said they were a close-knit family and she was heartbroken at what had happened to her sister.
“I was so shocked when I saw just how badly he hit her. The house was full of blood, from the walls to the floor. The house was in a mess. Everything was ransacked and out of place.
“You could see she went through a struggle to fight for her life. I had to brace myself to see her because she was looking unrecognisable with all the wounds,” said Jeevarathnam.
Police did not respond at the time of going to print.