Sarjapur Road

midnight

Koramangala

Agara flyover

Bengaluru

Risking their lives, Pinto and Santiago revved their bike to scare the assailants away ataroundRisking their own lives, two techies, en route home from work, saved a man’s life and chased away two robbers who had slit the victim’s throat after snatching his phone and wallet around midnight last Thursday on Sarjapur Road.The techies, identified as Prajwal Pinto and Gideon Santiago, both aged 36, were heading towardson their motorbike when they heard muffled screams for help. It was then they saw two men moving suspiciously on the side of the road under the. Taking a U-turn, they immediately saw one of the men holding a long knife and the other clutching valuables they snatched from the victim, who lay crumpled on the ground in a pool of blood. The armed miscreants moved towards the techies as if to attack them, but the duo revved the engine of their bike and charged towards the men. The miscreants then ran towards and hopped on their Honda Activa parked a few feet away and escaped. Pinto rushed towards the victim who was quickly slipping into unconsciousness and learned his name; he then dialled 100 and 108 to inform the police and called for an ambulance.The victim was later identified as 30-year-old Avinash Singh, a senior advocacy and reforms associate employed with Janaagraha. Singh had finished dinner at a nearby restaurant and was walking back to the room he shared with his brother around 11.20 pm when he was brutally attacked."My friend and I were heading home from work when I noticed some commotion under the Agara flyover just after the petrol bunk in HSR Layout sector I. Since it was pitch dark, we took a U-turn and came back to see two men with a long knife robbing a man. They tried to attack us, but we accelerated as if to run them over and scared them off. We then shifted the victim, whose shirt was soaked in blood, to the bus stop and called the police," Pinto told Mirror. Using water from a few bottles they found, they washed Singh’s face and tried to make him regain consciousness while waiting for help. Within 10 minutes, the South East division police -- and an ambulance -- rushed to the spot and shifted the victim to a nearby hospital. He was made to undergo an immediate surgery to stop the internal bleeding from the cut that was almost three inches long, said police."We admitted him to the hospital and left after cops told us to return to the station later and file a complaint. We did so, and the other day, I got a call from one of the constables saying the victim wanted to speak to me. He thanked us for saving his life; but what distressed me most is the fact that while we were waiting by the side of the road, no one else stopped to help. Everyone slowed down and looked long and hard, but not one person came to our aid. It was most disheartening, but I am glad the victim is alright now,” Pinto added.Singh was later admitted to the ICU in St John’s hospital for treatment where he was put under observation for 48 hours. His brother, Saurabh, who is also a software engineer in the city, decided to take Singh back to their hometown of Datia, a town near Gwalior, in Madhya Pradesh so that he could recuperate and the brothers left on Tuesday. Speaking to BM over the phone, Singh conveyed his gratitude to Pinto and Santiago for their timely help, without which he may not have survived.“I don’t remember much apart from the fact that my throat was slit because I resisted when the robbers tried to take my wallet after having already snatched my smartphone. I lost consciousness soon after, and doctors told me later that I had survived despite losing so much blood mainly because I had been taken to the hospital on time. I have been advised two weeks’ bedrest and have been prescribed antibiotics and regular check-ups.Hopefully, I will be back inby the end of the month,” the victim said.Janagraaha Advocacy and Reforms coordinator Srikanth Vishwanathan described Avinash as a hardworking, quiet individual. "He joined us in December and I have worked with him for a project that had a tight deadline. He doesn't talk much and is not loud or flashy. He's very diligent and extremely committed in his work, and we are anxious for him to recover soon and rejoin us. This incident has led us to think of starting a new campaign about safety on our roads, and we want Avinash and Prajwal Pinto to help us spearhead it," he said.