Two pet dogs helped the local crowd catch hold of a 21-year-old knife-brandishing youth who had stabbed a young working woman who was on her way to her office on Wednesday morning in a Chennai suburb.
Suchismitha, a native of Kolkata who is employed at the research and development centre of Ashok leyland in the city, was proceeding to the bus stop to board the staff bus of the company when R Raghunath (23), from Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu tried to stab her. Suchismitha, however, escaped with injuries. She has been admitted to a hospital. Raghunath has been arrested.
Raghunath was waiting on the road where Suchismitha’s hostel is located. He sprang on her as she stepped out of her hostel to commute to her office at 6.30 pm, a senior police official said. “As she was walking towards the bus stop, he allegedly confronted her, stabbed her with a knife in her stomach, and tried to flee immediately,” the officer added..
Eyewitnesses tried to nab him but he threatened them by brandishing the knife he used to stab the woman, and managed to get on his motorbike to leave. But a neighbour, who saw what happened, let loose his two pet dogs on the attacker. "The dogs stopped the bike by jumping over it. As the man fell off his vehicle, the public caught hold of him,” said one of the eyewitnesses. The public then handed Raghunath over to the police.
Colleagues of Suchismitha said Raghunath had a confrontation with her in the company bus over some trivial issue. When he tried to attack her, the colleagues intervened and warned him of dire consequences. Suchismitha informed the authorities about the incident which led to Raghunath’s termination from the company.
The incident brought back the memories of the murder of Swathi, a young IT professional in one of the railway stations in the city by a youth in June 2016.