Bangalore:
An attempt to murder on a fashion designer in Bangalore was foiled when she called her brother just in time. The call was cut mid-way but not before her brother heard her screams and called the police.
25-year-old Vasundhara, a NIFT graduate, was home alone when her cook Arjun Pandit and his friend Ravindra Kumar Thakur allegedly tried to kill her on August 13.
Pandit had come to the city two years ago from Bihar, and was working as a cook for a few households in Bangalore. He conspired to make away with valuables from Vasundhara's house when there was no one home other than her. Vasundhara's mother had gone to Vishakapatnam and Siddharth, her brother , had gone for work. That night, she was all by herself, and was working on the computer.
"At around 9.15 pm, I was about to start with my night rounds. Suddenly, a panicked young man came running towards me and said, "Can you please come home?" When I asked him what this was all about, he told me that he had just called his sister, who was alone at home, and had heard her screaming and a male voice," said Bangalore police Inspector LY Rajesh.
The boy was Siddharth, who was on his way home. He normally calls his mother everyday, on his way back. That night, he had received a call from his sister and heard her struggle with the assailants, which made him rush to the police station. They had snatched the phone from Vasundhara, but instead of disconnecting, they had pressed the receive button again.
"I took Siddharth in my jeep and told the Cheeta (patrolling staff) to follow me. We reached their house and saw Vasundhara being chased and scream through the window."
Pandit had called Thakur as planned and the duo tried to kill Vasundhara with a pillow first, but she escaped. She then tried to engage them in conversation, pretending to look for valuables, and made that lucky call.
The police broke open the door as it was locked from inside. One assailant tried to run, but the jeep driver nabbed him. The other was nabbed by the Cheeta team shortly. A few policemen and the inspector sustained injuries while they were trying to take the duo into their custody.
"She is very brave and I appreciate her quick thinking," said Inspector Rajesh.
Both Pandit and Thakur were arrested and a gold chain was recovered from them.
"Had the call been delayed even by a few minutes, Vasundhara might not have been alive, and the duo would have escaped. It would have become very difficult for us to trace them as the family had no details of Pandit who had joined just 15 days ago. Everything happened in true filmy style. It was an exhilarating experience," said Rajesh.