20 August,2021 07:30 AM IST | Mumbai | Priti Khuman Thakur
Shraddha Devrukhkar after being discharged from hospital
Shraddha Devrukhkar, the ICICI bank staffer who fought off the robber despite severe wounds, is back home from hospital after 19 days. Virar police recorded her statement, in which she narrated how her former colleague Anil Dubey robbed the bank's Virar branch and killed manager Yogita Chaudhary. She said the incident still haunts her.
On the fateful night of July 29, Anil Dubey who previously worked at ICICI Bank's Manvelpada branch in Virar, entered the bank with three knives hidden in his bag. He had plotted the robbery and came on the pretext of meeting the manager, Chaudhary. He ended up killing Chaudhary and severely wounding Devrukhkar.
"Dubey entered Yogita Chaudhary's cabin first and I saw him. I was working on my desk and suddenly heard the noise of the chair collapsing. I rushed to her cabin and found her in a pool of blood. I ran for help and Dubey started chasing me with a knife. He attacked me around 17 times on my head, chest, shoulder and other body parts." Despite the severe injuries Devrukhkar was determined to prevent Dubey from escaping. "I decided to save the bank's money and rang the hooter in the manager's cabin. This made Dubey fumble and he rushed inside and started packing gold jewellery worth Rs 3.38 crore in a bag," she said in the statement.
"I found the main door key and ran outside to ask for help. Dubey saw me and ran behind me. He caught me and was trying to drag me inside the bank, but I managed to escape and ran towards the road and shouted for help. I was soaked in blood. Locals noticed and caught him, and arranged an auto for me. As I sat inside the auto, I looked at the bank and thought of my husband and our five-year-old son. Then I fell unconscious. When I opened my eyes, I found myself in the hospital," Devrukhkar narrated.
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According to Virar police, Devrukhkar has been working at the bank's Manvelpada branch since 2017. On July 29, she stayed back to help Chaudhary transport gold jewellery. The other employees had left the office at 7.30 pm and the security guard's shift had ended so he went home, too, said police. The night duty guard hadn't reached the bank.
The bank paid for Devrukhkar's treatment and she will be back to work once she has fully recovered.
