BENGALURU: A Safety Engineer working for a contractor carrying out civil works for a Metro project on the Bannerghatta Road survived a murderous attack on him by an unknown assailant on Friday morning. He is now recuperating in the ICU of a private hospital with 70% of his left hand damaged and minor injuries to his stomach.
An FIR has been filed against an unknown person at the Mico Layout police station by Kolkata-based contractor Simplex Infrastructures Limited. Metro work is presently underway on Bannerghatta Road to lay the foundation for the elevated stretch of the Nagawara-Gottigere Metro Line of Phase-II.
According to a senior official of the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL), the 35-year-old engineer from Odisha, Anant Charan Bola, was working around 2 am in a barricaded portion just near the Arekere Signal when a two-wheeler rider stopped by. “He was on a Scooty and wanted to pass through the area where work was on. Bola asked him to use the lane adjacent to it since this portion was closed for construction activity. The rider demanded right of way and an altercation ensued between the two,” the official said.
The irate individual alighted from his vehicle, suddenly took out a cleaver from under the seat, and attempted to slash the neck of the engineer. “As an impulse action to protect himself, Bola raised his left hand and it bore the brunt of the attack. His stomach also suffered some injury,” the official added. The rider is suspected to have been in an inebriated condition. Hearing his screams, other workers rushed to the spot while the attacker fled. Bola was rushed to Fortis Hospital.
According to a representative of the contractor, a three-hour operation was performed between 4 am and 7 am at the hospital. “All the torn parts of his hand have been stitched together. The operation has been successful and doctors said the damaged hand was showing good response to treatment. The engineer has started communicating. He will be kept in the ICU for monitoring for 48 hours,” he said. The representative ruled out any personal animosity behind the attack.