A scary incident occurred recently to a woman software engineer who was kidnapped in the afternoon near Silk Board.
On Monday, April 1, 2019, around 1.45pm, 24-year-old Sushmita Dixit was kidnapped by five people travelling in a car near Vishal Mega Mart on Hosur Road near Central Silk Board.
Employed with Accenture, she had a job interview at Capgemini. Her father dropped her at Silk Board from where she took an Ola cab at 11am. When she reached Capgemini, she was told that the interview was postponed to the next day. She took an auto and got down at Silk Board. That was around 1.45pm.
Suddenly, she felt something hurting her neck. Before she could realise what was happening, some strangers had dragged her into a stationary car. By the time she gathered herself, she was seated in the car’s backseat, and was being told by one stranger that she should procure a few things from Anand Emmanuel, her office colleague at Accenture, namely some documents relating to a few drugs, web camera, and fingerprint scanner. They kept taking her around the city while threatening her with dire consequences if she does not agree to do their bidding. She lost consciousness soon after.
When she woke up at 9.30pm, she was lyding down on the roadside in front of Nandi Grand near Hoskote. Passersby took her in an ambulance to the Silicon City hospital in Hoskote where she was treated. In the car, there were five people, including the driver.
Though the incident occurred on April 1, the police complaint was filed at the HSR Layout police station only on May 17, 2019. The cops have filed several charges against the culprits for criminal intimidation, intentional insult, kidnapping and causing hurt.
With the ring road traffic using HSR Layout as a transit route, many accidents are taking place in HSR Layout. The area around Freedom International School, Greens Bar, Sweet Chariot, Mantri Apt and Coffee Day are the latest accident hotspots where severe injuries have taken place. Here is a rundown of each of the incidents where the damages were grievous.
LOCATION: In front of Cafe Coffee Day, near petrol bunk, 19th Main, HSR Layout
On February 7, 2019, 18-year-old Evaditya Singh, a resident of AECS Layout, was hit by a 42-year-old lorry driver at around 8am. At the time, Evaditya had rented a snooty pep and was riding from Agara towards Banashankari. In the same direction, a lorry driver rode negligently and came to a halt right next to the rider near the 19th Main Road-Outer Ring Road junction. And then suddenly, when the vehicles were proceeding to cross the junction, the lorry driver swerved to the left, hitting the rider, who fell and broke his hip bone. He was rushed to Sakra hospital for treatment. The lorry driver is booked for rash driving (279) and for causing grievous injury (338).
LOCATION: Near Freedom International School, 14th Main junction, Outer Ring Road
Hemanth, a 24-year-old rider of Honda Activa was hit by Srinath Elikod, a rider of Pulsar on February 20 at around 4pm.
He was on his lab collection drive from Outer Ring Road towards Greenview Hospital. When he was nearing 14th Main Road junction near Freedom International School, a rider on a Bajaj Pulsar bumped him from behind while allegedly driving rashly on the road. The result was that Hemanth fell on the road along with the bike, badly injuring his right shoulder. The Pulsar driver took the victim to the hospital for prompt treatment. The cops have registered a case of rash driving under IPC 279 and causing grievous hurt (338).
LOCATION: In front of Greens Bar & Restaurant, Agara down ramp
On February 17, at around 10.40pm, 35-year-old pedestrian L Seetharamaiah was hit by the rider of a Bajaj Avenger. He was immediately taken to the nearby Columbia Asia hospital for immediate treatment. He was not able to speak properly after the accident. The eye witnesses had to inform the victim’s elder brother L Ramakrishna about what happened. Apparently, Seetharamaiah was trying to cross the road in front of Greens Bar towards the military camp when a vehicle coming from the side of Agara and moving towards Iblur hit him while driving rashly. The victim suffered injuries on his head, both the legs, and back. The cops have registered a case of rash driving under IPC 279 and causing grievous hurt (338). For not attending to the victim, the motorcyclist whose face and vehicle registration number was captured by a nearby CCTV camera is charged with punishment that could extend by up to three months.
LOCATION: 5th Main, near Vasudev Adigas
Both the rider and passenger on a two wheeler were injured on February 21, 2019 when they were travelling at around 9.15am on their TVS bike. They were moving from Mangammanapalya towards Sweet Chariot near 5th Main junction when a car coming from Vasudev Adigas hit them on the frontside. Both the riders suffered a broken leg. The car driver rushed them to the hospital by arranging an ambulance that took them to the nearby NH Narayana hospital. The rash car driver was identified as Vivekananda Shanmugham, a resident of Doddanekkundi. The cops have registered a case of rash driving under IPC 279 and causing grievous hurt (338).
LOCATION: Iblur Park, Outer Ring Road
On Sunday, February 17, 2019, a 25-year-old two-wheeler rider was hit by a cab at around 7.25am. Virupaksha was grievously hurt when 27-year-old Maruthi Kumar hit him near the BMTC bus depot without giving any forewarning that he was moving his stationery vehicle to the right and proceeding towards Sarjapur Road. The motorcycle was hit on the left, leading to the rider suffering grievous injury to the head, and unable to speak. With the help of the passersby, traffic constable Mohan K rushed the victim in an autorickshaw to the nearby Columbia Asia hospital. The cops have registered a case of rash driving under IPC 279 and causing grievous hurt (338).
LOCATION: Mantri Sarovar Apt, Sector 1
On February 14, at around 10pm, 23-year-old Shivanna was grievously injured when he was hit by a motorcyclist. The incident occurred when he was travelling from Silk Board junction towards Outer Ring Road near Muneshwara temple in HSR Layout. Near Mantri Sarovar apartment, the accident occurred when Shivanna was taking a turn to the right by another motorcyclist Rohith who was coming from the same side. Rohith took the victim to Greenview hospital. Later, he was shifted to two other hospitals before coming being sent to Nimhans hospital for treatment. The cops have registered a case of rash driving under IPC 279 and causing grievous hurt (338).
Location: Bellandur Bus stop, ORR
On February 17, at around 5pm, 30-year-old Manjusha R riding a Honda scooter was hit fatally by Rajiv Kumar (40), the driver of a Maruti Ertiga. The incident occurred when a BMTC bus slowed down in front of Golden Apartment near the Bellandur bus stand. The driver of Maruti Swift behind the bus also slowed down. Manjusha following behind the Swift slowed down as well. However, the Ertiga car rashly driven by Rajiv Kumar hit Manjusha as he was not able to control his speeding vehicle. This resulted in her death on the way to Sakra hospital. The cops have registered a case of causing death by negligence, indulging in rash driving, and imprisonment of upto three months.
A resident has complained that he was defrauded of Rs 50 lakh advance on a fake site he finalised for Rs 3.6 crore.
The alleged fraud took place between February 2 and March 13, 2019. Politician R Chandrashekhar, a 46-year-old resident of Electronic City has alleged that he was cheated by Lakshmipathi T (30) and Sebastine (34).
Chandrashekhar, a member of the Konappana Agrahara village panchayat, was doing business in partnership with Suryanarayana. Chandrashekhar’s friend Sanjay Goyal introduced him to Sebastian who operated a real estate firm near Adigas restaurant on 5th Main in Sector 6, HSR Layout. Sebastian introduced Chandrashekhar to Lakshmipathi who claimed to have 2.1 acres of land in Doddanagamangala worth Rs 3.6 crore.
Towards this purchase, Chandrashekhar paid Rs 50 lakh advance in Sebastian’s office in HSR on March 13, 2019 and got Lakshmipathi’s signature on the site documents. However, when Chandrashekhar visited the site, he was told that the site belonged to somebody else and that Lakshmipathy was not the real landlord.
When Chandrashekhar asked for his money to be returned, both Lakshmipathy and Sebastian are alleged to have refused to pay up and in addition threaten him with dire consequences. The HSR cops have registered the case under several sections of the Indian Penal Code, including cheating (420) amd criminal intimidation (506).
Thieves don’t leave any house unburgled, particularly when the tenant is far away from home. On April 21, 2019, Brigadier (retired) RS Murthy left for Vietnam with his wife. On May 15, 2019, around 5.15pm, Murthy’s security guard Bharat noticed that the back door was broken into.
The guard reported the incident to Murthy’s nephew Sanjeev Balakrishnan who stays in HSR Layout. Upon inspection, Sanjeev found that the house was ransacked as the thieves failed to find what they were looking for: jewellery and cash. They avoided the electronic items and took away all the taps and kitchen fittings. There was water all over the place. It was an act of frustration, according to Sanjeev.
The theft despite having informed the cops in advance. The police officials are asked to nab the people behind the theft and increase surveillance around 24th Main where the house stands. The HSR police have filed a case of house-breaking and theft, and are investigating.
Murthy is a prominent civic activist of HSR Layout. He was the co-founder of the 17-year-old Sector 2 Residents Welfare Association and also served as its president for some time.
Kids getting hit by vehicles is becoming common in HSR Layout. However, a classic case of this act being caught on CCTV is rare. Here is one such incident of a playful kid in Sector 1 hit by a two-wheeler in October last year. You can clearly see that the rider was not at fault. When the playful kids just cross the roads without looking either way, they are bound to be knocked down. However, the riders and drivers have to go slow on residential roads to avoid major mishaps. They cannot treat such internal thoroughfares like the highway because then, they are as much at fault for overspeeding in a residential locality. Watch this CCTV footage and you will know what we mean.
This incident happened on 21st B Main near Agara Cambridge School in Sector 1. Fed up of this constant traffic hazard, the residents requested the traffic police to erect speedbreakers at the entrance and exit of this road between 10th and 11th Cross more than a year ago (May 25, 2017). However, no matter how many times the residents complained, the civic body rejected such a proposal without citing any reason.
What’s worse, this kind of accident is not confined to two-wheelers. Says resident Syed Imran who initiated the idea of the community pooling in their monies to install a CCTV network across the street to prevent thefts in the area. “This happens with heavy vehicles also, like school buses,” says Imran. “If BBMP won’t listen to us and our children’s life is at risk, we will have to put speedbreakers on our own, just like how the residents of this area funded their own CCTV network. Our tax rupees are not working for us as well as we would want them to. This may be a small issue for our elected representatives, but speeding vehicles on interior roads are a danger to the lives of children.”
The moral of the story? CCTVs not only prevent thefts (sometimes), but also help in nailing the real culprit. Please install CCTVs if you still haven’t. And if you are a tenant, convince your landlord to do so, or you install it yourself. Safety and security is more important as you can monitor your house through your cellphone.
It is more than three months since the incident, but the civic body continues to reject the proposal for speedbreakers. It knows best!
Recently, the state government announced that they are setting up a scrapyard in Yelahanka to dismantle old and abandoned vehicles. While we are not sure when that proposal will reach the execution stage, here is what happens to seized and abandoned vehicles that you see around police stations in the neighbourhood. The Bangalore Political Action … Read more
In a curious case, here is a story of a cab driver allegedly hitting a 36-year-old passenger for not letting him do his job at the appointed time. According to the police complaint, Sharad Agarwal called for a rental cab service to pick him up from a restaurant at 9th Main, 13th Cross, Sector 6. … Read more
Despite some efforts made by the traffic police, Iblur junction continues to be dangerous to riders and pedestrians alike. In January, a pedestrian died when a water tanker ran over him while he was crossing the road. While a skywalk is yet to be budgeted and sanctioned, there is another death at this junction of … Read more
The Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) of the state government has raided the BBMP office in Bommanahalli on Begur Road. The raids are going on as we write this. The Joint Commissioner of Bommanahalli and other senior officials of Bommanahalli are being questioned in a closed door meeting, according to our sources. HSR Layout comes under … Read more
A 30-year-old housewife in Sector 1 has filed a dowry harassment case against her husband and in-laws at the HSR Layout police station. According to the complaint given on January 31, 2019, the resident of 24th main has alleged that her 30-year-old husband Dinesh Chandra and his family members Sitadevi (50), Hanuman (54), Tara and … Read more
