KOCHI: The residents near the Ponnarimangalam toll plaza on the Container Road woke up to a shocking piece of news on Monday as a 63-year-old woman — living alone at her house — was allegedly hacked by a burglar, leaving her with grave injuries to her head and face.
Though the burglar decamped with the woman’s gold chain and a sum of Rs 4,000, the Mulavukad police solved the case within a few hours. They nabbed the accused — Suresh, 40, of Chunkath Veettil, Ponnarimangalam — from an abandoned house near the Thandassery temple in Mulavukad, following a massive search operation.
Silvi aka Mariyakutty, wife of the late Chani, of Thundiparambil, Mulavukad, is recuperating at the Ernakulam General Hospital. She is out of danger, said a hospital source. The police said the incident happened around 12.30 am after Suresh broke into the house through the door to the staircase landing. Seeing Silvi come to the hall to charge her mobile phone, he hacked her using a machete.
The scared woman took shelter under the cot in her bedroom. The burglar threatened her, asking where the money and the gold were. During the melee, he snatched her gold chain. When she told him that money was kept in the wardrobe, he took Rs 4,000 and left the house, the police said. Silvi, who took some time to come out of the shock, called up her neighbour and conveyed the matter. The neighbours saw her lying in a pool of blood and soon called in the police, who shifted her to the General Hospital. The incident has sent shivers down the spines of the local residents.
Silvi, who is from Kollam, is staying alone after her husband and son died a few years ago. She is also running a hotel near her house, the income from which she had kept in the wardrobe. Based on the woman’s statement, the police launched a search under Mulavukad Sub Inspector N Jayaprakash.
“Suresh was planning to leave the city by catching a train by night,” said an officer. A team led by Jayakumar Chandramohan, ACP, Ernakulam Central, carried out the investigation. The police said the accused will be produced before the court.
