Orissa Cooperative Housing Society Colony in Bhubaneswar. Picture by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, Aug. 3: Panic gripped Unit-III area as a 19-year-old youth entered a house in Orissa Cooperative Housing Society Colony posing himself as an electrician and stabbed a girl in a bid to rob her of her belongings. The incident occurred today.

The person fled the spot as neighbours rushed to the house after the girl raised an alarm. The girl, identified as 20-year-old Pravasini Parida, a third year BTech student, was admitted to a private hospital at Unit-IV. She has sustained stab wounds on her hands.

The girl’s uncle, Anil Nayak, an employee of Orissa Cooperative Housing Corporation, said his niece had come from Balasore to visit them two days ago.

The girl, an electronic and telecommunications engineering student, was about to start her one-month internship with BSNL at Mancheswar.

“There was no one else in the house when she heard someone knocking at the door. The person on the other side of the door allegedly said he was an electrician and had come for electric meter checking. The girl said she was alone in the house and would not open the door. The person threatened that if she did not allow him to take the meter reading, electrical connection to the house would be cut off. At this, the girl opened the door,” said Nayak.

The person tried to threaten her at knifepoint. However, the girl had a scuffle with him and had raised an alarm. As she cried for help, neighbours rushed to the house, which was on the first floor of a three-storeyed building.

Manorama Samantray, who lives on the ground floor of the same building, said the boy pushed her on the stairs and fled the spot.

A youth staying in the same building tried to chase him, but to no avail.

Samantaray saw the girl crying in pain. “The girl narrated us the incident and we soon informed her relatives. They reached within a while and took her to hospital,” said Samantray.

Kharavela Nagar police went to the spot for verification. Later, deputy commissioner of police Nitinjeet Singh rushed to the spot along with other senior police officers.

Singh said they were investigating into the matter. “From preliminary investigation, it seems that the goon had come to rob the house. But, he attacked the girl as he could not succeed in his mission. We have launched a manhunt and will arrest him soon,” he said.

Today’s incident reminded of the murder of a sixty-year-old woman at Jagannath Vihar on February 1, when she was alone in the house during daytime.