Twice bitten - but shop owner won't shy away

By ALANAH MAY ERIKSEN
To save his daughter's life, Ramesh Naran would have given anything to the offenders who robbed his shop.

Two men, one holding a pistol and the other a knife, cleared out a small amount of cash from two of Mr Naran's tills at S & R Fordlands Food Centre on Ford Rd at 6.30pm on Tuesday.

Mr Naran and his daughter, Dasha, 13, were sitting in an office near the till counter when the robbers arrived.

It is the second aggravated robbery at the shop in three years.

"They came in and said, 'This is a stick-up'," Mr Naran said.

"They were stabbing at the first till to try and get into it so I went up to them and said, 'Do you want me to do that for you?' It was all over in 30 seconds."

He then opened a second till for the offenders and let them take cash from it.

Police are still looking for the offenders.

"Money was not an issue, I had to protect myself and my daughter. They could have had whatever. I'm just glad they didn't threaten us. I knew I had to stay calm."

Dasha told the Daily Post she was scared and had cried after the offenders left.

Meanwhile, Billy William Daniels is serving a 4 1/2-year jail sentence after taking money from the shop in an armed robbery on July 11, 2004.

He had a 15cm knife.

Mr Naran's son and another staff member were behind the counter at the time.

Despite the two robberies, Mr Naran and his wife, Saravati, who have owned the shop for nine years, will not be scared off.

"We have a pretty good relationship with the customers. I get the feeling [the offenders] weren't from around Ford Block. They were just young opportunists, maybe 16 or 17."

The Narans, who live in a different part of town, closed the shop yesterday so they could "chill out" out for a day but it was back to business today.

Mr Naran said it was hard to say how much he would have lost by closing for a day.

Detective Senior Sergeant Mark Loper, of Rotorua, said the gunman was of medium build.

He had worn dark pants, a blue top, a dark-coloured baseball cap and had white material covering his face.

The second man was of slim build, with dark pants and a hooded top.

He was wearing a mask similar to those which featured in horror movie Scream.

Witnesses can contact police on 0800 TIPOFF or (07) 348 0099.