Almost murdered and robbed 50m short of bhimeshwary jungle lodges

Hi everyone

Just wanted to notify all of you to be careful about lonely paths within any city, cross country and country / jungle limits. We got mugged and knifed 50m short of bhimeshwary jungle lodges on Sat, 14 Jul 2012 at 7:30 pm. My husband Chandan was attacked with a knife and was badly hurt on his nose and upper lip. The assailant also tried to knife his neck. You can find the details below.

Care we will take traveling in future:

1. travel in groups
2. reach all destinations much before sunset.

3. do not lower windows more than 1 inch

4. lock your car doors always

5. do not go to any jungle property without prior confirmed reservation.

6. Carry a pepper spray for safety.

7. In case of any incident, make sure you register an FIR. The police will try to discourage you by saying that you have to come to court compulsorily, many times. This is not true. It is never mandatory for the victim to come to the court. The court call comes only after 3-4 years. If the police is good, they act on the report and make sure safety is ensured going forward. The police can ask you to identify the assailant by sending a picture as well.

Action taken from our side
1. The local police station discouraged us from filing the report. We later filed it with the DGP of Karnataka, at Bangalore on 16 Jul 2012.
2. We have informed Jungle Lodges, IFS and the Regional Forest Officer about this.
3. We have posted this all over social media
3. We have informed times of india and hindu

Action we requested from the authorities
1. Patrol the area near Jungle Loges on Fri, Sat and Sun
2. Put this information on the Jungle Lodges website that people should not come without prior confirmed booking and they should come before 5:30 pm.
3. Put information on how to be safe while driving.
4. Put better directions so that visitors do not need to ask a lot for directions.
5. In case someone comes to the lodge and does not get accommodation, they should be allowed to park the car inside the premises.

If you have access to press or television, please let me know. People need to know about such things. Please forward it to people you care about for their safety.

Tanu
PS: we are fine now

Copy of report filed

Details of the incident

 

7:20 PM	2km after muttati towards bhimeshwary jungle lodge	3 men	two men trying to push their bike uphill a small slope asked us for a lift. They were on the left of the car. We slowed down. On the right was a big muscular guy who tried to come close to the car. Chandan was suspicious and rode away.
7:30 PM	Bhimeshwary Jungle Lodges Gate	2 gate keepers	The 2 gate keepers refused entry to Chandan and Tanu since there were no rooms available. They suggested we go to the nearby Forest Guest house
7:32 PM	50m right of Jungle Lodges, a kachcha road that leads to the river cauvery, but is blocked by barricades	3 locals on a bike	We ask the bikers for directions to the Forest Guest house. One of the biker puts his hand inside the car through the lowered window and tries to take away the key. Chandan who is in the driver's seat, struggles with the key, the man takes a knife out and assults chandan on the nose, face and neck. Chandan gives up the key and opens the door. Another man opens the door from the other end and grabs Tanu. Chandan pulls Tanu out from the driver's door. The assilant punches chandan on the left eye. He and Tanu fall on the ground. The three attackers try to run away with the car as they have the key. Chandan and Tanu run towards the jungle lodge gate
7:34 PM	20 m right of Jungle lodges Gate, on the main road	Auto driver and local auto passengers. Around 10 people	Chandan and Tanu raise an alram and the auto passengers come to help. The attackers run away. The auto passengers help take out the wheel of the car and deflate another tyre so that if the attackers return to steal the car, they can't. Tanu takes the car tyre nuts and bolts with her and the jack. One of the passengers and the auto driver pull Tanu's hands and insists that we go with them to the nearby town. They put the tyres and the car belongings in the auto. We tell them that we prefer to go to the lodge but they don't want to come with us to the lodge. We run away with out our belongings to the lodge.
8:00 PM	Jungle Lodge gate	2 gate keepers	Chandan and Tanu climbed the gate fearing they will not be allowed into the lodge. We thre our belongings inside and while climbing, the guards opened the gate and allowed us in. Around 10-15 lodge staff members came. Some of them went to the crime scene. In 5 mins they came back riding a bike.
	Jungle Lodge gate	Auto driver and local auto passenger (narayan prajapath, 9945817346) give their card.	The auto driver and the passengers came to the jungle lodge gate and returned the car tyres. We are surprised why they did not do so earlier and why they were insistant to take us else where. The auto driver and the passenger who were insisting to go with them, gave us their card and insisted on them being truthful. They also asked Tanu to tie a rakhi.
	crime scene	Recovered attacker bike (KA 51 J 1156), knife and car key	They claimed that the bike was lying near the barricade and that it could be started with any random bike key. They claimed to have found the car key near the bike. The bike pocket had a knife. They took the car tyres, nuts and bolts and the jack, fixed the car and brought it back.
	Jungle Lodge gate	chandan can identify one of the assilants	the staff asked us if anyone was following us. Chandan then rememberd that the attacker was the same man who had asked for the lift earlier. Chandan can identify the attacker.
10:00 PM	Jungle Lodge office	Manager Vasanth 09634111759	While we were asking for the manager since 8pm, we get to see him only after 1.5 hours. The manager, Vasanth almost 5 times if we were married and if we were sure that we were married. He asked us if we had a proof of our marriage. We told him that we were married indeed but did not have a proof then and there. Tanu also told him that an IFS officer at Bangalore is her friend. Vasanth, took us to the office, called up the sub-inspector Dhanraj, chandan spoke to him.
		Gajendra Singh IFS	Tanu called up her friend Gajendra singh, IFS. Gajendra spoke to Vasanth. Vasanth allowed us to park our car inside, offered us dinner and let us spend the night in the car.
10:30 PM	Lungle logdes staff quarters	sub inspector, shanakraiah, 08231 295322	sub inspector shankaraiah came. He did not know english or hindi. The jungle lodges staff helped him translate and gave him our details in a piece of paper. He asked us to lodge a compain if we want. He asked us if we would like to compalin that night or in the morning. We said we would do so in the morning. The staff who was writing our details, gave him the alleged crime knife. The handed over knife was a kitchen knife, not a country knife. However the knife seemed to be different than what we had seen in the bike's pocket. We are not even sure if the bike was indeed of the attackers.
Sunday, 15 Jul, 9:30:00 AM	jungle lodge	Forest Guard from the Karnataka Forest Service,	The forest guard came to visit us, took us to his office in muttati and left us at the police station at halagur. He was the only one who was genuinely concerned and shocked. He patrols the area from time to time.
12:00 PM	halagur police station	Shankaraiah	We wrote the police complain but the police discouraged us from filing the complaint telling us that we will compulsorily have to face the court summons week after week. We decided not to complain as we do not have the time to go to the court. Also we are moving to chennai in a month.

Mon, 16 Jul, 1:30 pm	DGM, Kanataka's office	DGM	Chandan and Tanu, meet the DGM and give him a written complaint. they explain the situation and also mention that the sub inspector at Halagur discouraged them to file a report
Tue, 17 Jul, 2:30 pm	ACP's office	Srikiran, ACP's PA	Tells Tanu that the case had come to them from the DGM's office on 17 Jul and will be forwarded to the Grievance and human rights department  -Narasimha Murthy

Autumn Winter Spring Summer

26 sep 2005

A frail looking Benagli Indian girl - brown skin, black eyes, black flowing straight silky hair, stepped outside Heathrow. Trying to drag a heavy suitcase of 53 kgs, overwhelmed by the sight of the the country which had ruled her country only a 50 years ago, looks kinda old and honestly not atall pretty or developed for that matter.

She had a prinout of instructions from her bro in a short email - "there is a green line, then on the right - a bus service called the Oxford Tube. Make sure you buy a 18 GBP return instead of a 12 GBP single journey. Believe it or not you will need to come to heathrow. Make sure you show your student visa and get a student discount."

She tries to look around for help but no one is in sight. No one came to welcome her. she had heard how in the US, the universities send their India Club representatives to welcome the newbies. Hold on...there was this old lady who seemed to be one of the airport staff cleaners...Tanu decides to ask her for help. 'Excuse me, I'm looking for a bus to oxford'...she gives a frown and goes away...she looks around and somehow there isn't a single soul around...

Sigh. What am i doing here, she asks herself...she needs to remind her that she came here as a Felix scholar to study at Oxford, get a job in UK, spend two years until her sweetheart in India finishes his MBA and is ready to get married....but is it really worth it? so what if it is Oxford? I never dreamt of going to Oxford...i only wanted to get married to the love of my life...this place is so daunting and so cold and everyone seems to be mean...she almost turns her back to catch the return flight to India,

She notices the green line her bro had written about...n she spots a telephone booth
ok it is red in color like the ones in india...and it takes a 2 pound coin for a 60 sec international call ! thats bloody 160 rupees ! I could eat 20 vada paws with that money ! she dials home...the number doesnt reach...the number was right but there was some combination of * and # that needed to be figured out...she felt like crying...tried three times and she cant reach her sweetheart or her mom or her bro (who btw is an Oxonian and is in India right now)...she bangs the phone booth and kicks it and sees someone approach..."oops better be careful..its not my country...i can't perhaps bang the phone booth here"....she ducks and the passerby goes away...after 5 tries she figures it out and calls her mum and cries on the phone..."i dont want to be here..i want to come home immediately...this is a horrible horrible place...and i don't even understand the accents...this is not bbc accent....they are mean...no one gives directions...people are not helpful, they just pass by, they just"....beep beep beepp....60 sec gone ? ooo what shall i do? knock knock...."i need to make a call please if you are done, says a curt voice"...she steps out in teary eyes and just takes a break for a minute or two...

Zoom goes a bus that says oxford tube on it....oooo thats the bus....but the bus doesn't stop when she waives her hand....she watches it go a few 100 meters ahead where the road bends...may be that's where the stop is...53 kgs being pulled by a 48 kg girl is quiet a task....she remembers all the ants and takes inspiration from them while dragging herself to the counter....huffing and puffing she asks for the 18 pound ticket and asks where can she board it...there is a long queue...and the driver seems to be in a huge hurry...its a huge volvo bus, a mammoth she has never seen before (honestly there were buses of that kind in India but she only used the trains, never the inter city buses)...it makes a huge huffing sound when the door opens and the luggage compartment opens...the belly of the bus consists of the luggage...and you have to pre-decide what luggage goes in and what goes with you...thanks to the airport regulations, her allergy puff is in the main luggage and she has to take it out while the driver and the passengers get super pissed off...she asks everyone to continue and she would board in the end but they seem to be ever so pissed off....people are mean in this country....they can so easily be pissed off...she sorts things out and boards in the end....

the ride starts with a fancy announcement she can't understand...he said something about a toilet in the bus..wow that's interesting....and that one must wear seat belts...she wonders why and laughs to herself....oh these firangs..they make such a fuss about everything....soon the bus starts with a jolt,..she remembers her horse riding classes way back in the army camp (her dad's from the forces)...and the bus takes sharp turns at god knows what speed ! she now understands why one needs seat belts ! its actually a roller coaster ride...by her side is this old gentleman...she tries to be friendly and asks who he was...turns out to be a prof from some university in Germany and has come to the computer science department for a talk...she is thrilled...oh we are from the same department..he doesn't seem to be very excited , not sure why...she tries to do some small talk but he prefers to keep to his readings...

the scenery outside is pretty and interesting...manicured lawns miles after miles...somewhere a milestone says some meadows...aah that's what a meadow is...now now don't take me as a rustic girl coming from a village but honestly i had only read about these things...but even though it is all so beautiful, she feels so lonely and empty and wondering all over again what is she doing in this bloody country...

meanwhile she decides to check out the bus toilet...there is good news and there is bad news...the good news is that it is super cool to have a toilet in a bus ! the bad news is that it is as unclean as one would find in India...and they say they are developed country....

she decides to go back to the email from her bro...the bus station is called glauster green...what kind of a name is that ! sounds like a green coloured elf to me honestly...and there is some street called cowly where you can find the indian groceries...COWly in OXford...she was quite wondering where is the bull or the buffallo....and the name of the college is wadham...dad pronouces as waaa - dhaaaam as it it fell dhaam se kahi se....

the bus announces its arrival and the driver again seems to be in super hurry...puts my luggage out and expects me to tow 53 kgs by myself...ofcourse there are no coolies here but still someone can offer a little help...the cab stand is a good 50 meters away and there is one heavy bag with one heavy suitcase and one small suitcase....damn i was certainly not well prepared for it...the driver actually yells at me...move u r in a danger zone..."how do i move? can u help me? i am not a porter....i can pay u...he gets even more pissed off...can't you help a little bit? may b you can call the cab here?" "cabs are not allowed here"..."then how do i reach the cab?" well take what u can and leave the rest..."is this your british hospitality towards a foriegn student "! his supervisor yells at him...he decides to show some mercy and take one of my bags to the cabby...

he says with pride..."u r lucky it is a black cab"..."ok...so?" "you don't know about the famous black cabs of london and england?" "no"...."what kind of an ignorant third world foreigner are you?" his supervisor yells again...he rushes back...

unfortunately the cabby is not a punjabi ...he is a pakistani...m meeting a pakistani for the first time...being a defense officers daughter i reserve the right to be suspicious about them....m dead scared of pakistanies...and his eyes don't seem to be good...doesn't look descent...will he kidnap me? :O i ask him how much will it cost....and i tell him that he better not cheat me coz i know that it should not cost more than 4 pounds...he says this is not India...and says pay by the meter...i argue asking how do i know he won't take the long route? he says you don;t really have a choice...either take it or leave it...i say "imaandari se chaloge toh inshallah chalenge"...he seems to get influenced and assures me...and address me as sister...he still looks pretty sinister...he takes me to wadham and it costs 6 pounds and i yell at him for cheating me...he swears by all his gods that he did not cheat...meanwhile the porter from the college comes and asks him to leave since he can't park to argue...i have to give him those 6 pounds = 480 rupees for a 1 km taxi ride :( !! it puts me to tears...

i turn back and see this fortress made out of sandstone...with large iron doors and a little iron door within it...tall walls that no one can cross...i enter and a huge courtyard, they have a fancy name for it they call it a quad...on the right is what looks like a reception...there is this old tough and mean looking guy who had earlier yelled at the driver...he seems to be in a horrible mood...i ask him if i can make a phone call...he gives me the direction to a pay phone outside the fortress...i leave and he yells....you can't leave your luggage behind...thats against the rules...oh sorry...where shud i keep them? can i keep it in the reception...he reluctantly agrees but only for a little while...