Tirupati: Pilgrims stood by and watched as a mentally deranged man attacked a couple who was trekking to Tirumala during the early hours of Wednesday. The profusely bleeding couple did not get any help even from fellow pilgrims, and were left to fend for themselves for over half an hour.
RTC buses and private vehicles going to Tirupati through the first ghat road sped away ignoring the couple’s pleas for help. Finally, some final year engineering students from Anantapur helped them. If the students hadn’t arrived in time the couple would have bled to death.
The middle-aged couple, Gopal Thyagarajan and Latha Thyagarajan originally belonging to Tanjore district, are Singapore residents, and had come for a pilgrimage.
The couple came to Tirupati by car from Bengaluru after midnight on Tuesday, and started climbing the hill at around 1 am. They were attacked by a stranger wearing a black shirt. He inflicted a cut on Ms Latha’s neck, as she was walking ahead of her husband. He also stabbed her in the stomach with a knife at around 5 am near the Akkagarla temple. The assailant also injured Thyagarajan on the neck with the blade after he rushed to the help of his wife.
The attacker walked away coolly leaving the couple crying in pain and shouting for help.
The duo managed to reach the nearby first ghat road but no vehicle, including RTC buses, bothered to stop even though Mr Thyagarajan was pleading for help. But some engineering students travelling in a Scorpio car noticed the couple and rushed to their rescue. They too tried to stop buses heading to Tirupati since the nearest hospital is in Tirumala.
The students decided to reverse their vehicle to take the couple to Tirumala as other vehicles did not bother to stop. After a few kilometers, the students stumbled upon a TTD ambulance parked near Mokalla Parvatam. They shifted the couple into the van and returned to Tirupati.
The couple was rushed to the Ruiya Hospital in Tirupati after giving first aid at the Aswani Hospital at Tirumala and their condition is stated to be stable.
TTD executive officer M.G. Gopal praised the five students, V. Kondanna, V. Madhu, Mahesh, Dhanunja and Rajesh, studying at the Intell Engineering College in Anantapur, for helping the injured couple.
One of the students V. Kondanna told this newspaper that they took the help of pilgrims trekking up the hills to stop the traffic to reverse their vehicle and take the couple to Tirumala. He lashed out at the RTC drivers for their inhuman behaviour.
Tirupati Urban SP Rajasekhar said that they have formed 12 teams to apprehend the attacker who is believed to be a psycho. The SP said the attacker could be someone with robbery in mind. He said that they cannot rule out previous enmity too.
“We are investigating all these angles,” he added.
