| Lalit Sharma, known as Soni, said he has taken the drastic step of giving up the tenancy of the Linlathen Store in Glenconnor Drive after being subjected to taunts of racial abuse and intimidating behaviour from children as young as eight.
Soni, who only took over the shop three weeks ago on a trial basis to see whether he wanted to purchase the store, said he will now hand back the keys to owner Uddhab Bhattarai on Sunday.
“There is a big problem in this area,” said Soni. “There is a gang of 40 or 50 young people, who hang around the shop every night.
“They are aged from about eight up to their early twenties and they just hang around outside every day.
“There are a lot of people too scared to come down to the shop because there are so many young people hanging around outside. They are taking drugs in full view of everyone.”
The frustrated shopkeeper said he had contacted the police on numerous occasions, but had yet to see any results.
Mr Sharma said the situation had got so bad he had considered closing the store after 5pm, when the trouble generally started.
“There has been so much trouble and they never listen to anybody,” he said.
“They are not bothered who they offend — they shout at me and use very bad language that I can’t even say. It has been quite frightening for my staff and for me. They are really intimidating.”
Soni said the young people hurl racist insults at him, threaten violence, shoplift and vandalise the premises, often putting employees’ lives at risk.
“This week one of them set a firework and threw it at the door of the shop,” he said. “I saw another one recently throw fireworks in the direction of someone who was just walking across the street.
“They have broken the light on my van and have set fires at the back of the shop.”
Soni, who has also managed Soni’s Mini Market on Teviotdale Avenue for almost 10 years, said the thuggish behaviour has left him with no choice but to give up the shop.
“I can’t keep it on,” he said. “I wanted to run a good shop for the local community, but there is such a big problem there. I am leaving this weekend and handing back the keys.”
Shop owner Uddhab Bhattarai, who ran the shop for a year, told the Tele he would be re-opening the shop on Monday morning, but would be contacting police to alert them to the ongoing problem.
“This was Soni’s trial because he was hoping to buy the shop, but he has realised it is impossible to run because of the young people terrorising the place.”
He added, “I will open on Monday because, if I don’t, I will lose the business, but I really do not know how long I will be open for.
“If the police can’t help me or things don’t get better I will have no alternative but to shut.”
Chief Inspector Suzie Mertes, who is in charge of operational policing, said “Obviously most people in the area of Linlathen are law abiding residents who are community minded, but we are aware there are problems.
“We are proactively working in a partnership approach with several other agencies to work in the community.”
She urged people to get in touch with police if they witness any type of criminal activity.
She added, “Certainly, when it comes to incidents of a racist nature, we take that extremely seriously and if we can find evidence to support that, people will be charged.
“It is not something that will be tolerated.” |
