Knife at Her Throat, Hands Glued: India's Bengaluru Crowd Risks All to Rescue Woman

BENGALURU, Nov 3: Members of the public and traffic police personnel rescued a 23-year-old woman who was allegedly held hostage at knife-point by a robber inside a shop in Bengaluru’s Indiranagar area on Saturday.

The dramatic incident, captured on video, unfolded around 11:45 am at Premium Shoe and Bag Repair on 100 Feet Road, where the woman, identified as Jayashree S, was working alone.

According to her complaint, the accused, identified as Prabhuraj, 40, entered the shop wearing a helmet and gloves. He allegedly jumped over the counter, threatened her with a knife and warned her not to raise an alarm.

The accused allegedly covered her mouth, held a knife to her neck and used Fevikwik, a quick-setting adhesive, to glue her hands together. He also allegedly stuffed a piece of cloth into her mouth and struck her neck and hands with the knife before forcibly taking her gold necklace weighing around 35 grams and valued at approximately Rs 4.5 lakh.

Jayashree managed to free her hands and raise an alarm. However, the accused allegedly grabbed her by the hair, dragged her back into the shop and held the knife against her neck, warning the growing crowd outside not to approach.

When the shop owner and bystanders attempted to intervene, the accused allegedly swung the knife at them and attacked the shop owner before trying to escape.

Members of the public, assisted by traffic police personnel, chased and overpowered him. He was subsequently handed over to the Indiranagar police.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (East) Vikram Amathe said the police secured the accused with the assistance of members of the public and took him into custody. Following questioning, he was produced before a court and remanded to judicial custody.

The DCP confirmed that the woman was safe and had not suffered any serious injuries.

Police are verifying the accused’s background. Preliminary information suggests that he may be experiencing mental health difficulties, police said.

The accused has been charged with voluntarily causing hurt during an attempted robbery.