Friday, October 25, 2013

@24 , Pregnant ,she didnt deserve to Die.



(The following narration is a true story , My cousins story . Am sharing this with you today with the hope that , if ever in life should you find yourself in a dire situation , you make better judgements. This is how I have chosen to find my closure. Love ya sis….)


Life was spinning out of control,
Trying to make sense of it all ,
Had quit my job , was facing my parents wrath.
Thought some lone time would help me put things back into perspective, or not..
The Goan  morning began with the a rather heart breaking text from mum ,

Khushboo is murdered ,  it said.

This can’t be happening , is this some sick joke? But it wasn’t …..
On my flight back home , I was cold and numb. 
Bhai was there to pick me up. He wrapped his arms around me and I Lost all my composure. He gathered the broken me and we headed to say our last goodbyes…

Khushboo ,
A cousin , but was more like a sister I never had. The cat-fights , the gossips , the pizza n friends marathons, we did it all. I remember this one time, she cracked me up so hard that I literally fell on the floor laughing and couldn’t get myself to stop for a good 30 minutes. I don’t remember if I’ve ever laughed like that again. May be I never will…….

Married for almost 3 years to a very kind and loving man, she was finally having her chance at happiness. Her difficult childhood was the result of her parents ugly separation. She always felt torn inside. But she was happy now, she'd made peace with her past.

Am going to be a mommy , she couldn’t stop gushing when she shared this news with me. This child is going to be my universe she said . I had secretly started planning a baby shower for her. Little did I know it was all about to get jinxed….

The abrupt end…..
     A year and a half back she'd hired some local contractors for a paint job at home.On the afternoon of 2ndJuly2013 the same 3 painters came back stating that they were in the vicinity and that they were willing to  provide free touch-ups. Not sure if she should let them in , she called up jiju ,  who at that time was at work. He told khushboo to send the painters back and ask them to return the next day when he is home. She tried to reason with the painters but they convinced her on the pretext that they will be done within no time. She bought the argument and let them in. BIG MISTAKE ….

Once the painters were in the house  , they asked Khushboo for some water . As she entered the kitchen they locked the main door . She thought she heard something and made her way back into the living room. That’s when she realized she was in trouble. She did put up a fight , but they managed to overpower her and finally strangulated her with a wire.

As she lay there in a pool  of blood, she took her last breath.
As she lay there in a pool of blood, her four month old unborn baby lost its chance at life .
As she lay there in  a pool of blood, the vultures ransacked for once that was a home and made away with a loot.
Jiju felt something amiss when all his calls went unanswered , so he sent his mother-in-law to check on her, but .. it was late.

Its heart wrenching to come in terms with loss. Over and over I keep revising that place in my mind , hoping she would have done things differently.

How i wish , she would have asked the painters to come another time, she’d  be alive today. 
How i wish, she would have asked a neighbour to stick around while the painters did their job, she’d  be alive today.  
How i wish , she had an emergency app like The Smart Suraksha , which at a touch of a single button would have sent out an SOS message to her 5 per listed contacts and the police along with her co-ordinates. Her mother who lives only two blocks away could have responded to her cry for help and it probably would have helped saved her life.
How i wish......

The police did a commendable job of hunting down the suspects. For more information on the case:



She was murdered in broad day light , in the comfort of her home . It’s  time we disillusion ourselves and  snap out of our denials that this can never happen to me …….. it just did.

The paper is full of it:

How bad is it ?
Some key crime facts about India based on NCRB data for year 2012

1. India remains one of the most violent nations to live in has been further reinforced by NCRB’s ‘Crime in India’ report - 2012. The total incidence of violent crimes has increased by 65 percent in 2012 over the previous year.

2. Safety and security of women in India remains questionable as overall crime graph against women has witnessed 6.8 per cent rise in 2012.

3. Madhya Pradesh with 3425 cases in 2012 is the new rape capital of India. Overall at the country level, incidence of rape has risen by 2.96 per cent in 2012 over the previous year.

4. Kidnapping& abduction of girls and women continues unabated. A 7.5 percent rise in cases of kidnapping , abduction & murder of girls and women has been reported in 2012.



          Inflation , unemployment , poor law and order and media influence , was can play this blame all night. But its about time we take our safety in our own hands. In times of crisis, technology can be of great help. It’s time we learn exploit it.
     “Smart Suraksha” a free android based emergency app, at a click of a single button the app will send out simultaneous messages to 5 people and the police , along with your exact location even if your GPS is turned off. May the need never arise, but still GET IT TODAY, YOU OWE IT TO YOUR SELF AND YOUR LOVED ONES.


This post is a part of an awareness program in collaboration with The Smart Suraksha App , powered by Blogadda .

(p.s. for some street smart tips on how to survive in the Mumbai city go here : Survival Mumbai 411)