TERROR IN BACKYARD

Anil Chincholikar

Having completed her supervisory duty in the Pediatric Ward for the day, Priya* looked forward to watching her favorite TV serial at home, followed by good night’s sleep. She lived in her Government  bungalow in Ujjain, a small township near Indore in Madhya Pradesh, for the last 25 years. The Civil Hospital, where she worked in Class I position, was about 4 minutes from her bungalow.  She was a very popular doctor, with an excellent bed-side manner and installing confidence in her patients. Since the sad demise of her husband several years ago and after her children had left pursuing work opportunities outside Ujjain, she lived all by herself, without any fear, till it happened that fateful night,  on 30th April 2011.

During summer – typically from April to early July- the temperatures at Ujjain often rise beyond 40 degrees Celsius. The nights are somewhat better around 25 degrees Celsius. The dry climate means that a Water Cooler can make the temperature in the bedroom to a comfortable level for a restful night’s sleep. During summer, it was Priya’s last job, before retiring, to fill enough water in the cooler.

It was around 11 pm when Priya picked a bucket to fill water from the verandah at the back of her home. As she did so, something crashed down on her.  As she recovered from the shock she saw, to her horror, a middle-aged man with a large knife. The man had been waiting on the terrace for a few hours, waiting for Priya to appear. With savage suddenness, he jumped on her and slashed his sharp knife over Priya’s neck. She started bleeding instantly. The intruder  coolly tied her hands behind her, closed her mouth with the ‘pallav’ of her saree and threatened “Don’t make any noise, or I shall kill you”. From the menacing looks of the man, he really meant it. He had come to rob her and  if necessary, kill her.

As he yanked off her gold bangles, her hand was hurt with the knife. Though bleeding now from her neck and hand, he forced her to sit down and demanded the locker key, his sharp knife glistening menacingly in the moonlight.  Priya had no choice but to accede.  

Ignoring her cries of pain, the attacker started searching for ornaments and money. He pocketed the gold chains, silver jewellery and began ran sacking the cupboard.  He threw away the clothes and found only Rs 5,000. He expected much larger amount of  currency at the residence of a leading doctor.

Being a doctor herself, Priya knew she would bleed to death soon. As she tried to keep the consciousness, her entire life flashed back before her eyes….

                             …..        

Prior to her marriage, Priya was the youngest child in a family that comprised of her parents, three brothers and one sister.  After graduating in Medicine, she also completed her Post Graduation in Pediatric Surgery. Her posting in the small, interior location of Raghogad gave her the interesting opportunity to come in close contact with  the then Chief Minister of the State.

In 1979, Priya married Dr Amitabh, an ENT specialist a very enthusiastic and jovial man. Interestingly, when Amitabh and parents visited Priya’s house for a potential matrimonial match,  they observed that Priya was eating with her right hand with some difficulty. The real reason was - Priya was a lefty ! For some reason, it was believed that left handed girls may not be approved by their in-laws. Priya, therefore, had to eat with right hand- although with difficulty. Both Amitabh and their parents visited hurriedly next day to find out, whether there was defect in Priya’s right hand.  Being told that Priya was a lefty, all the worries disappeared, and marriage proposal was agreed upon without any apprehension.

Being a juvenile diabetic and a Doctor too, Amitabh  knew that his life span would be limited. He had to be administered insulin injections every day at specified time and Priya would follow the injection routine very promptly and  without a  fail. He took the life sportingly and enjoyed every moment. Dr Amitabh was a man with political ambitions. While he practiced his profession well, his ambition was ”Priya should become the Chief Medical Officer”.

Over a period, they had two lovely children – Vibha and Pranay.

Priya’s nephew Anand, also an ENT specialist, was also posted in Civil Hospital at Ujjain. His bungalow was only two blocks away from Priya’s bungalow. He stayed with his wife and his mother – Priya’s elder sister ! Having the elder sister staying so close offered Priya, a great relief.  Having common dinners was a regular feature. No day would pass without visiting Anand.

It had to happen, but not that fast.  On 12th March 1994. Amitabh was feeling unwell, so he was taken to  M Y Hospital at Indore. After a few hours, he started feeling very uneasy. Being a doctor, he knew that his end was near. He called Priya by his side and murmured “ Priya, it’s too late. “. Amitabh lived for 44 years, a life full of zest and happiness but a life too short, especially from Priya’s point of view

All was over. It was a fatality she knew would happen, but not so soon.  She was left all alone to bring up their two small children, who were just 7 and 5 at the time. She had two big tasks : Her children and Her job – which was about fulfilling her husband’s ambition – that Priya should become Chief Medical Officer.

Time passed by and both her children became engineers. Vibha acquired engineering degree and specialized in IT.  Pranay too stood first in his engineering college and then did his MBA from a premier business school in Mumbai.

Both children were also happily married and settled in Bangalore and Mumbai. Priya’s joy also knew no bounds when her daughter was blessed with a baby boy in 2005.

Priya was happy with their success and having placed them well in life, she stayed alone in Ujjain. She would  often visit her children. Of interest was her grandson, Jitu,  on whom grand parental love bestowed.  Priya was looking forward to spending time with the children and grandchildren after retirement.

                                    ………….

As all these memories flashed  in her mind,  but as she came back to reality, she realized that her hands were bound and bleeding.  Her saree was soaked in blood and she knew that being in this position, she would not survive for long.

The culprit, having collected his loot, also thought that Priya was dead and walked  away quietly through the back door.   

“ What if he comes back ? “ thought Priya. If he finds that I am still alive, he will not hesitate to kill me. She therefore stayed motionless, quietly for some more time.

10 minutes passed by but felt like ages. Priya then slowly crawled to her telephone in the drawing room. Lifting the phone, she  rang up her nephew. Thinking it was Priya’s call before she goes to sleep, Anand answered the call leisurely. Priya, after great effort,  requested Anand to  immediately rush over to her,  without specifying the incident. Thinking that Priya must have slipped, Anand arrived within minutes.  He was horrified to see Priya’s condition.

An Ambulance were immediately summoned and Priya was adequately and quickly attended to. Next day, the news spread like wild fire. The top brass of the city, including the Superintendent of Police came to her house and assured her of speedy action. Priya was lying calmly on the hospital bed with a swollen face and bandages on her neck and hand.  More than 100 patients from the town came to see their favorite doctor. It was difficult to stem the flow of people coming in until it was decided to tell the visitors that Priya was asleep and should not be disturbed.  The local newspapers covered this incident very widely. Priya had always been loved and respected and this incident brought out a range of emotions from her well-wishers that ranged from horror to anger to helplessness to genuine concern.

Priya recovered in about 15 days, but the horrible incident still left a trauma and fear in her mind. She asked for a month’s leave and went to Bangalore to be with her daughter’s family.  She later stayed with her son and with her brother in Mumbai.  Gradually, the wounds healed, and the fear factor reduced.  Returning to Ujjain, she decided to stay with her nephew for some time. After a few days, she then realized that such that even when incidents do happen, one must fight the demons of fear and face the situation. She then went back to live in her own house. To manage for a few more days, even after modifications for safety were  made to her residence, she would still sleep in the night at Anand’s  house.

Priya returned to normalcy and returned to a normal life, so normal that she was often teased by her friends with the permanent necklace, a scar across her throat left by knife attack of her intruder. That scar is a reminder to us of her indomitable spirit.

                                            *************

Priya retired  as the Civil Surgeon of the same Hospital and is leading her normal life at Mumbai, staying with her son.  Priya has also had an opportunity to be the Chief Medical Officer of the Hospital, a dream that her husband, Amitabh always  had. Her professional work was recently highly appreciated by the whole city, including civic and public authorities. Unfortunately, the culprit was never caught, despite best efforts by the administration

*Names of persons and places have been changed to protect identity.