Everyday we read through thousands of news articles about mishaps, thievery and robberies. We probably give it a micro-second’s thought and then just move on. That’s because the natural reaction of ‘mere saath toh nahi hoga‘ is installed deep into our minds. However, misfortune doesn’t care about that and will strike you when it has to, like it did to Chittibabu who was going to Bengaluru.
According to Bangalore Mirror, Tirupati resident Chittibabu was attending a wedding. He was sent to Bengaluru to buy some flowers and it was that trip that went south in every sense of the word. He said,
“A woman was already sitting inside the auto rickshaw. But I got in anyway. On the way, another woman got in, and a little later the auto stopped again to let in a man who sat next to the driver.”
Chittibabu had ₹ 40,000 in cash for the wedding decorations. Still, he didn’t get a hint that something was wrong when so many people had boarded the auto. It was only when the auto stopped at an isolated place in Okalipuram that he knew he was in deep trouble.
The first blow came from the women who brandished a knife at Chittibabu and told him to give up the money he had. After snatching it away from him, they threw him out but Chittibabu wasn’t one to give up.
“I got up and ran behind the auto rickshaw. But they had stopped the vehicle and were distributing the money among themselves. I ran to them and managed to catch one of the robbers, but the others, including the women, managed to escape.”
Chittibabu managed to keep them engaged until some policemen spotted them. However, the robbers took advantage of his inability to speak Kannada and framed him as the robber by throwing the knife onto his side.
Chittibabu was already disturbed by the fact that he had been robbed and was even more shocked to see himself being framed. However, things cleared up when a Telugu-speaking cop intervened and let him speak.
“They gave me the ₹ 8,000 [part of the cash stolen and split between the robbers], that was with the man I had managed to catch. With that money, I bought some flowers and came back to Tirupati.”
The police was able to confirm that Chittibabu was telling the truth by contacting his employer in Andhra Pradesh. In addition to that, they’ve registered a case of robbery/dacoity and have zeroed in on the location of the two women and men.
There is a recent crime wave that has hit India which can be the result of a multitude of factors, ranging from unemployment to inherent frustration. However, that doesn’t mean that after seeing cases like these, we should stop moving around. Instead, we should learn self-defence or carry something as handy as a pepper-spray, in order to avoid getting overpowered during situations similar to Chittibabu’s.