A heated argument that started on TikTok between two cousins erupted into a violent street altercation on Saturday in New Amsterdam. The confrontation left 29-year-old Nalini Bacchus with injuries requiring stitches to her forehead and beneath her right eye after she was reportedly hit with a broken bottle and pepper-sprayed.
Bacchus, a resident of Timmers Dam, Angoy’s Avenue, New Amsterdam, recounted to The News Desk that the incident stemmed from a video posted online by her cousin, 38-year-old Dianne Mahase. In the video, Mahase made disparaging comments about a female employee at a New Amsterdam supermarket, even calling for the employee to be fired.
Bacchus commented on the video, saying, “The girl is a single parent and sometimes you never know you could make she get fired from her job, that’s all I said. I said man, you act like you never worked anywhere before.” This comment sparked a social media feud, with both cousins trading threats. Bacchus eventually blocked Mahase on all social media platforms, hoping to avoid further conflict.
However, the situation escalated when Mahase’s fiancé took to social media with claims of an alleged relationship with Bacchus, intensifying the online tensions. Bacchus reported this to the police, and both cousins were warned to keep away from each other.
On Saturday, while out in New Amsterdam, Bacchus saw her cousin in a car but thought nothing of it and continued with her errands. She claims Mahase later emerged from the car, pepper-sprayed her, and hit her with a bottle, leaving her disoriented and injured.
“I couldn’t see. I started to holler for my eyes,” Bacchus recounted. “She picked up a bottle from the ground, lashed me, and then threw something else that hit my face. Then her mother came at me, and my sister had to pull me away. My sister was attacked too.”
Bacchus expressed frustration with how the police handled the situation, feeling they treated her as the aggressor despite her visible injuries. “When the police came, they didn’t rescue me. I was bleeding, asking for water, and instead, a policewoman dragged me out, saying, ‘Y’all gonna kill the girl,’” Bacchus shared.
She further alleged that a male officer forcefully took her phone and pushed her into a wall, injuring her shoulder. “He said I like to video, and I told him, ‘If you’re not doing anything wrong, why don’t you want me to video?’” Bacchus said. Both women were taken to the police station, but Bacchus claimed her cousin received medical attention first, leaving her to wait at the station despite needing care herself.
Bacchus is now calling for a thorough investigation, stating, “So far, I don’t feel like I’m getting the justice I need.”
