By Belinda Nolan
NEWLY-appointed Police Minister Peter Ryan called for an urgent briefing last week to investigate claims Brimbank police did not respond to a Triple-zero call.
Sunshine resident Shiushankar (Sunny) Singh Dhunna says his family felt frightened and abandoned by police, who he claims didn’t show up during an emergency call out.
Sunny made a frantic phone call to police last Sunday, after his wife was followed home by a scissor-wielding bandit.
Sharon Jit was walking down Devonshire Rd with her parents at around 11pm when they observed a young man brandishing long bladed scissors.
Frightened, the trio hurried home only to discover they had been followed.
“My wife looked outside and saw him standing at the front door holding the big scissors,” Sunny said.
“It was very scary.”
Petrified, Sharon woke Sunny, who called police, emergency operators taking the call at around 11.18pm.
But the family claims that police never arrived.
“We called the police and told them everything that happened,” he said.
“But they never came.
“We waited up until two in the morning but still they never came and we never heard anything from them.”
But Victoria Police has refuted the claims, insisting police were dispatched to the scene.
A Victoria Police spokeswoman told Star the police van had been tied up with other jobs but that a Sergeant had responded to the call.
The Sergeant did a patrol of the property and surrounding area and and sat in a police car outside the front of the property until around 11:54pm but did not make contact with the family.
The spokeswoman said the Sergeant had believed that the family did not wish to speak to police and Victoria Police was investigating whether there had been a miscommunication. Sunny maintained police never showed up.
“I’m surprised they’re saying they came because we waited up for hours for them and we never saw any police,” he said.
“I was very shocked and upset that they never came or even called afterwards to find out if we were OK.
“My whole family feels very unsafe here, especially my wife.
“She is so scared to be home alone.”
A taxi driver, Sunny said he had been forced to change his shifts at work because his wife was terrified to be alone at night. “It’s not very good, but what can you do? Your family’s safety is the most important thing.”
A Devonshire Rd resident – who did not want to be named – told Star he believed the scissor-wielding man had knocked on his door at around 11.15pm the same night.
A spokeswoman for Mr Ryan’s office said the Minister had requested an urgent briefing from Victoria Police in a bid to get to the bottom of the claims.
“Understandably, the incident would be frightening for the family involved and it reinforces the need for more police on the beat,” she said.
