Prompt action by a police inspector saved the life of a teacher who had been attacked with a machete.
On Thursday evening, Shekhar, 42, a resident of Hosakerehalli, allegedly stabbed Tanuja, 39, with a machete in Girinagar. Passers-by assumed she was dead, as she was bleeding profusely. However, Inspector C.A. Siddalingaiah decided to do something to help her.
“I was assessing the vulnerability of polling booths in the area when a man on a bike told me that a woman had been stabbed. I immediately went to the spot and saw people gathered around her. She was lying in a pool of blood with her intestines out of the body,” he said.
He put her internal organs inside her body, tied a cloth around her stomach to stop the bleeding and rushed her to a private hospital in an autorickshaw. On seeing the severity of her wounds, doctors administered basic medical aid and advised him to take her to a speciality hospital. A 108 ambulance was summoned, and Tanuja was taken to Victoria Hospital.
“By then, senior officials had already spoken to doctors at Victoria Hospital who were prepared to handle the emergency,” he added.
Another complication arose when the woman required AB+ blood, which was not available in the hospital. In another fortuitous turn of events, the inspector's blood group is also AB+. Siddalingaiah readily donated his blood. The woman was operated on and is now out of danger, said the police.
Attacker arrested
Shekhar was caught with the murder weapon. Preliminary investigations revealed that his two sons attended tutorials by Tanuja, who is a widow.