At 6.30 pm on Monday, holding a baby in her arms, 28-year-old Vimala was standing at the gate of her house talking to another woman. Suddenly a man in a white shirt arrives on the scene and starts attacking her with an axe. Vimala instinctively uses her hand to prevent any blows to her and the baby, and immediately runs back into the house. The armed attacker, identified as Rahul Goud, bolts from the scene after others arrive to confront him.

The incident, caught on CCTV, took place under Meerpet police limits in Hyderabad.

Police said that the attack was a revenge crime. The accused, 25-year-old Rahul Goud, who was previously arrested by the police for harassing the victim, tried to kill her in an act of vengeance. The accused is still at large.

According to the police, the accused was previously a family friend of the victim. However, since the family did not like his disturbing behaviour, they snapped ties with him. Nevertheless, he continued harassing Vimala, following which she filed a complaint against him with the police. Rahul was charged under the Nirbhaya Act (Criminal Law Amendment Act, 2013) in December and was subsequently imprisoned.

“It is a motivated crime. He (Rahul) wanted to take revenge against the woman for putting him in jail,” Meerpet Inspector M Mahender Reddy told TNM. The Inspector said that they have formed teams to nab the absconding accused.

Meanwhile, Vimala is being treated at a private multispecialty hospital. Her condition is said to be stable. Police have filed a case against Rahul. The charges include 452 (House-trespass after preparation for hurt, assault or wrongful restraint) and 307 (Attempt to murder).