Kozhikode, June 19: In a real life drama with all
the trappings of a thriller, a web chat between a woman in Kerala and her sister-in-law in Canada saved the life of the latter and her eight-month-old baby from a dagger-wielding intruder who broke into her Toronto apartment.
It all started when Asha Madathil of Kozhikode was
engaged in a web chat on June 16 with her sister-in-law
Poornima, who lives in Toronto.
As the chat went on, Asha heard doorbell of the apartment
of her sister-in-law ringing which was followed by her loud
cry on seeing the intruder.
For a few minutes, Asha was in a haze. But she soon
recovered her presence of mind.
She first informed an uncle of Poornima in the town of
what was happening to his niece in Toronto, Asha told agency
recalling the sequence of events.
"As the webcam was facing the main door, the whole thing
could be seen by Asha on the computer screen as if it was a
film. As Poornima unlocked the main door of her apartment, a
man in black T-shirt and trousers, barged into the flat and
dragged her inside the room as the screaming woman cried out
for help with the baby on the floor," Asha said.
The stout man then asked Poornima to part with valuables
as the hapless woman gave him two laptops and a camera. The
man, while searching the apartment for costly things, had
threatened to kill the baby and Poornmia.
On seeing the computer on, the man was heard asking
Poornima "is it kept on to trap me?" and then he switched it
off.
The diversion helped Poornima in giving a slip to the
robber and run out of her house and raise an alarm. Sensing
trouble, the man escaped using another exit door.
"I was in total darkness for a while. Recovering from the
shock, I alerted Sreekumar, an uncle of Poornima`s husband
here. Acting swiftly, the family members contacted Poornima`s
neighbour in Toronto, who in turn alerted her husband," Asha
said.
On being informed by the husband, a team of Canadian
police visited Poornima`s apartment. "The police is still on
the look out for the man," Asha said.
"I truly regret for not being able to record the incident
as that could have helped the police track down the culprit
easily," she said.
Bureau Report
