A 28-year-old woman was attacked with a cleaver by a colleague in the parking lot of their company in Pune on Tuesday, allegedly because she borrowed money from him under false pretences.
Several people witnessed the horrific attack, but no one intervened. The woman died of her injuries.
Krishna Kanoja, 30, an accountant at WNS Global – a business process outsourcing (BPO) company in Yerawada – told the police that his colleague, 28-year-old Shubhada Kodare, had borrowed money from him several times, telling him that her father was unwell and needed treatment.
When Kanoja asked for the money back, Kodare refused, citing her father’s condition. He then went to her native place to corroborate her story and found that her father was okay and was not suffering from any health issues.
Around 6 pm on Tuesday, Kanoja called Kodare to their office’s parking lot to confront her and ask for his money back. Kodare refused, leading to an argument, and Kanoja slashed at her with the cleaver.
Several people who were in the parking lot saw Kanoja attack Kodare but did nothing to try and stop him. One or more of them even recorded the act. It was only after the woman was writhing on the ground and Kanoja threw the weapon that a crowd surrounded him and thrashed him.
“Kodare was rushed to a hospital with a severe injury to her elbow. She was declared dead around 9 pm on Tuesday. A case was registered and Kanoja has been arrested,” said a police officer.
‘Police Lacking Somewhere’
On Thursday, Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar issued a veiled warning to senior officers in the Pune Police for not being able to tackle crime in the city. The police, he said, may be “lacking somewhere”.
Pune has seen several attacks recently by ‘koyta’ gangs, named after the machete-like weapons they use to hack opponents.
Asked about these gangs, Mr Pawar, who is an MLA from Baramati, said, “Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis (who also holds the Home portfolio) has taken serious cognisance of these cases. Being a representative of this area, I have also taken this issue very seriously.”
Issuing a warning to officers, the deputy chief minister said everyone knows there is no political interference in the work of the police.
“Despite being given various facilities in terms of infrastructure, housing, new offices and manpower, if police are unable to rein in these crimes, then it shows senior officers in the force must be lacking somewhere. If they are not able to tackle the situation, they should admit it and we will bring better officers to control crime,” the NCP chief was quoted as saying by news agency PTI.
(With inputs from PTI)