CHENNAI: In yet another attack on young working women in the city by men known to them, a 31-year old woman employee of the research and development department of Ashok Leyland was stabbed by a former colleague today in the morning hours. Luckily, she survived the attack and is under treatment at a private hospital.
Suchismitha, a native of Kolkata who lives in a hostel in the city and works at Ashok Leyland, was stabbed by her former colleague right outside her place of residence in West Mambalam on Wednesday morning. Police have arrested the suspect R Raghunath (23), a native of Sivakasi.
Raghunath apparently hid in the street where Suchismitha’s hostel is located, and sprang on her as she stepped out to commute to her office at 6.30 in the morning, 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.
Passersby 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. 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,” an eyewitness said. The public then handed Raghunath over to the police.
During inquiry, it was revealed that Raghunath, who too worked in Ashok Leyland in Minjur, had apparently lost his job after a public quarrel he had with Suchismitha on the staff bus. "Last July, Raghunath had reportedly got into a quarrel with Suchismitha in their office bus. The other staff present in the bus warned Raghunath and let him go. Following the incident, Suchismitha then complained to her father, Chatterji, who also works in the same company. Based on the complaint, Raghunath was sacked from the company and has been unemployed since,” the investigating officer said.
Angered by this, Raghunath decided to attack Suchismitha, the police said.
Suchismitha has been working in the Research and Development department of Ashok Leyland for the past three years. Raghunath graduated from a private college in Coimbatore and joined the company last June.
She is undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Chennai.
A spokesperson for Ashok Leyland said, "Yes, we are aware of the unfortunate incident earlier this morning. Thankfully, she is out of danger due to timely medical care and attention by fellow colleagues. Prima facie it appears to be a case of personal vendetta. We are extending all cooperation to the investigation authorities. Safety of all our employees is of prime importance and we will ensure all care and attention is taken to avoid such incidents in the future."
Adhok Leyland also claimed that the attacker was not directly emplyed with them but was a sub-contract staff. "The attacker was a not an employee of Ashok Leyland; he was a sub-contract employee," the spokesperson said.