It’s happening. The change is here. Now when confronted with a crisis, women no longer look to the nearest man for help nor do they simply twist their hands in helplessness like a frail maiden. Today’s woman is gutsy and will not stand for any nonsense. Witness the sheer courage and presence of mind shown by Bindu Sunil, a 21-year-old beautician from Bangalore when two men on a motorbike snatched the phone from her hands.
Bindu was walking in the afternoon from a salon where she works to her nearby residence in Wheeler Extension, east Bangalore. She had wrapped up early for the day and was speaking to her husband Sunil on the phone, when two youngsters on a bike accosted her. The pillion rider grabbed her phone. But Bindu didn’t just drop the mobile in shock, or only try to note down the number of the scooter; the plucky woman quickly grabbed the handle behind the seat.
Although putting her life at risk, she latched on to the handle at the back of the speeding Honda Activa and was dragged 150 metres before it hit a compound wall of a convent near Fraser Town.
“The youngsters didn’t stop, hoping she would eventually let go of the Activa. Bindu held on even as they rode for about 150 metres over a rough road dotted with potholes and speed breakers. The boys then panicked and crashed on to the compound wall of a convent. The pillion rider escaped with the phone, while the rider fell down. Leaving the scooter behind, he tried to jump over the convent wall,” said a resident who witnessed the entire incident.
Waiting for the rider were a nun and a gardener, who seeing the stranger jumping over their wall, promptly caught him. Meanwhile, passersby rushed into the convent and recounted the incident. The youth was taken to Pulakeshi Nagar police station, a bleeding and frazzled Bindu in tow.
Bindu’s guts are admirable, but considering how many bruises she sustained, maybe she could have chosen her priorities better. A phone’s replaceable after all. Although we must admit that this episode will ensure that the rogue will think twice the next time he plans to snatch somebody’s phone.
