A MOTHER has spoken of the terrifying moment two men entered her home and hit her over the head with a crowbar while her children were in the house. 

Mamta Mathur was at home in Cromwell Road, South View, Basingstoke with her husband and three children at 8.30pm on Friday, August 28 when the two men attacked her, leaving her bleeding and unconscious.

The family, who believe they were targeted because they are Asian, with the intruders mistakenly thinking they had gold, have criticised the police for not doing enough about this problem.

Mamta, 44, said she looked up to see a man standing in front of her, wearing all black and carrying an iron rod and spray can.

“In that millisecond I had so many thoughts,” she told the Gazette. “I thought what if he’s here to harm me or my teenage daughters or my husband.”

The brave mother-of-three said her “motherly instincts” kicked in and she knew she needed to protect her family, so she threw some papers she was holding in the intruder’s face and screamed, which shocked him into taking a step back.

“I saw my family in danger, my kids were in danger,” she explained, adding: “He started walking backwards and I started walking towards him. First, I saw him as a human being but then he became a dark image. We got to the door of my bedroom and he stumbled. It was his last chance to do something and at that point he hit me with his rod on my head.”

She said the only words the man spoke were “oi, get here”.

Mamta then noticed a second man in the hallway. She described both as wearing black trousers and black hoodies, with one having a French cut style beard. Both were white British and aged in their early 20s.

“For a split second my eyes went away from him and I saw there was another man at the door holding a crowbar. As I was falling down, he hit my stomach. I was lucky that my arm came in front of my stomach.”

The impact broke Mamta’s elbow into four pieces and she fell to the floor unconscious and bleeding.

Her daughters called the police, while Mamta’s husband Dr Rajiv walked towards the men screaming, and they left the house empty handed.

Basingstoke Gazette:

Rajiv, 44, said: “I stepped outside and started screaming help. One came back towards me with a knife, so I stepped back in and locked the door behind me and pushed on it with my hands.”

The incident has left the family terrified, with Mamta having nightmares every time she tries to sleep.

The mum, who runs two IT businesses, spent two days in hospital receiving treatment for her injuries, including 22 stitches in her head and her arm in a cast. 

“We are so lucky that Mamta survived,” said Rajiv, adding: “This was near death for her. If the crowbar had gone into her stomach it would have led to internal bleeding.”

Mamta now feels frightened in her own home, explaining: “I feel very unsafe. I’m getting nightmares constantly. People entered my home and did this, and I feel they will attack me again. I’m afraid that someone will attack my kids because this has left them frustrated. I think they will do a second attack.”

Rajiv, a computer scientist, is worried about the effect the incident will have on his two daughters and son, aged 10, 11 and 14, saying: “It was very distressing for our children. I think this will have a long-term impact on their psychological wellbeing, the impact and trauma of this will leave deep scars.”

The family feel frustrated with the police for not doing enough after Rajiv reported his bank cards being used after losing his wallet last October and fearing this incident could be connected to the recent attack.

He said the police refused to investigate his bank cards being used in two nearby shops, despite there being CCTV footage of the possible culprit.

“They closed it as being insignificant but it’s about social importance. If you let this guy off without warning it will lead to something bigger. From a social point of view, it’s so wrong they didn’t do anything. It wouldn’t take many resources,” he said.

The family believe the police have accepted that the Asian community is at an increased risk of being targeted for gold. Mamta said: “They are content that if we have gold, it’s our problem.

“They are segmenting us by saying you are Asian, you have gold so you will be targeted. That’s not fair, we are making such huge contributions to the economy. We made a point not to have any gold in our home because we want to send a message out, and if we got burgled nothing valuable would be taken.

“But being inside my home and being attacked isn’t something we were prepared for. We weren’t prepared for someone to enter our home when we were here.”

She said her family, friends and neighbours had supported her following the ordeal, bringing her flowers to cheer her up, but the family is now considering relocating abroad because they no longer feel safe in this country.

“Many of my friends who live in India or America they tell me I should be in the US or come back to India because I will make way more money there,” said Rajiv, who came to England from India in 2000, and has lived in Basingstoke since 2006. He added: “My argument has been that I live in a democratic, lawful society and a fair society. It doesn’t matter if I don’t have as much money, I value these things more. Now I feel ashamed, I have become a laughingstock.”

Police have said a third man was waiting outside in a vehicle during the attack. The men are believed to have got into a nearby white car before leaving the area.

A spokesperson said: “We appreciate and understand this was a very distressing and traumatic experience for the family. However, this is an ongoing investigation and it would be inappropriate to comment at this stage. Police enquiries are still very much underway, and we will continue to liaise with the victim as to any update.”

Anyone with information is asked to call police on 101 and quote 44200331960.