KOCHI: A woman working in a travel agency at Perumanoor near Ravipuram was seriously injured on Tuesday when a man slit her throat following a dispute over money paid for a visa. The woman identified as Surya, 25, an employee of Ray’s Travel Bureau, has been admitted to a private hospital in Kochi after she suffered a deep cut on her neck.
The incident took place around 11 am on Tuesday when Palluruthy native Jolly James, 48, reached the travel agency asking for the owner of the firm. According to the police, Jolly had paid around Rs 1 lakh to the travel agency for a job abroad and was upset over the delay in getting a visa.
He was frequently visiting the agency to get his money back and was enraged. “The victim Surya is an employee of the travel agency. She attended to Jolly at the office. A verbal duel broke out between the two after Surya told them that the owner of the firm is not at the office. Jolly became furious and took out a knife from his pocket. He attacked Surya using the knife and she was injured in the neck,” a police officer said.
Following the attack, Surya ran to the nearby Zaffron restaurant, located opposite Ray’s Travel Bureau, and sought help.
“She came running to our hotel and told us that a man attacked her using a knife. Blood was oozing from her neck and spread all over her body. She pointed to the man standing in front of her office. We soon informed the Ernakulam South police. The accused was saying that he had come there to kill the owner of the travel agency,” Ashraf who works at Zaffron restaurant said.
The police team reached the travel agency within five minutes. “When we reached the place, Jolly was at the office. We took the accused into custody. The victim was taken to Ernakulam General Hospital in the police vehicle. There she was referred to a private hospital and now she has been admitted to the ICU,” a police officer said.
Police recorded the arrest of Jolly after interrogating him for several hours. Police officials said that it was a planned attack by the accused. “We have registered a murder attempt case against Jolly. He will be produced before the court on Wednesday,” a police officer said.