Woman jumped off train fears yet another attack

KOCHI: The 31-year-old woman who jumped off a moving train following an assailant attack on Wednesday and being treated for head injuries is having recurring nightmares that he might come after her to the hospital. Even after a day of the shocking incident, the police have not nabbed the assailant who is identified as Babukuttan, a native of Nooranad, Alappuzha. The victim, Asha Murali, is admitted to the Medical Trust Hospital in Kochi.

“Asha has been shifted from the ICU to a room in the hospital, but she is yet to recover from trauma. She still fears the assailant would come to the hospital and attack her. She is really frightened,” said husband Rahul Sadanandan, who is with her in the hospital.

Asha, a clerk at the higher secondary regional office in Chengannur, was attacked by the assailant immediately after the train started moving from the Mulanthuruthy station from where she had boarded.
Rahul said she is not ready to be alone after the incident. “She always needs someone’s presence near her. She can’t stay alone for more than a minute as the incident is flashing in front of her. We hope everything will be alright in a couple of days,” Rahul said. 

Asha also explained how he could escape from the assailant after the attack.“When she boarded the D8 compartment of the Guruvayur-Punalur train, no one was there inside the compartment. But when the train left, the assailant who was in the D10 compartment immediately entered D8 and threatened her to hand over the gold ornaments.

“Though she was ready to give the ornaments and money, she was dragged towards the door. When she got a chance, she tried to escape after hanging on to the door handle of the train. It took nearly 15 minutes for Asha to escape,” he added. The assailant escaped with her gold chain and bangle which cost around Rs 1 lakh, Rahul said.

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