Did Pune BPO employee hack his colleague to death over borrowed money?

A 28-year-old woman working at a multinational business process outsourcing (BPO) company in Maharashtra’s Pune was allegedly killed in a sharp weapon attack in the company’s parking lot on Tuesday.

The woman, who suffered severe injuries to her hand, succumbed due to excessive bleeding.

The accused, one of her colleagues, reportedly killed the woman because she declined to return the money she borrowed from him.

Let’s take a look.

Pune call centre staffer’s death

The incident occurred at approximately 6.15 pm on Tuesday in the parking lot of WNS Global in Yerawada.

The victim, employed as an accountant, has been identified as Shubhada Shankar Kodare, a resident of Katraj. The suspected attacker is Krishna Satyanarayan Kanoja, 30, a resident of Shivajinagar, who also worked as an accountant for the firm.

A blurry, one-minute video surfaced online on Thursday showing the attacker killing the victim using a cleaver in public view and trying to walk away from the spot.

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Firstpost has chosen not to include the images in this article due to the subject’s sensitive and graphic content.

Media reports claim that although several people witnessed the incident, none of them tried to stop it. Only after the attacker threw away the cleaver did a few witnesses manage to subdue him.

The woman was rushed to a private hospital in Yerawada, where she later died due to excessive bleeding.

“Probe has revealed that Kodare was diabetic and often suffered from hypoglycemia or low blood sugar. Preliminary information suggests that due to her condition resulting impaired clotting response, she suffered excessive bleeding and succumbed to the injury during treatment,” the officer was quoted by The Indian Express.

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A case has been registered, and Kanoja was nabbed by police from the same area sometime later.

According to the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 4), Himmat Jadhav, Kanoja was brought before a Pune court on Wednesday and has been placed under police custody till January 13.

Although Kodare’s family is originally from the Chiplun district of Ratnagiri, they have spent the last few years living in the Karad area of Satara. In Karad, her father operates an electrical shop.

Kanoja is single, and his family consists of his parents and three married older brothers.

Kanoja was formerly employed by WNS as a junior accountant and had taken a year off from the company.

Four months prior, he had rejoined the firm as a senior accountant.

According to a senior officer involved in the investigation, who the Indian Express mentioned, the two had known each other from Kanoja’s prior tenure with the WNS.

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The motive behind the attack

The victim borrowed about Rs 4.5 lakh from the accused, who was attempting to recoup the money, according to the police.

According to reports, she had borrowed the money for the previous two years, citing her father’s and her own medical treatment as reasons.

Citing her father’s illness, Kodare declined his request for the money back. After that, he travelled to her hometown to confirm her statement and discovered that her father was well and in good condition.

When Kodare left the office at around 6 pm on Tuesday and arrived at the office parking lot, Kanoja confronted her and demanded the money back. He attacked and killed her in broad public view after she refused.

According to the investigation, she called her father to inform him what had happened shortly after the accused colleague had struck her with a kitchen knife. The probe suggests the attacker also spoke with her father and repeated his demand that she return the money he gave her.

The officer claims that Kanoja needed money for eye surgery that he had in June. He demanded the money that had been loaned to Kodare, but she insisted that she would pay it back shortly.

“In the preliminary investigation we have ruled out any other reason for dispute or any other form of relationship between the two,” the officer added.

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NCW condemns the killing

In condemning the death of the 28-year-old woman, the National Commission of Women (NCW) has called for prompt and strong action against her attacker.

NCW Chairperson Vijaya Rahatkar has written to Maharashtra Director General of Police Rashmi Shukla for an immediate and fair investigation.

Within 48 hours, the Commission ordered the state police to charge the accused and turn in an Action Taken Report and a copy of the FIR.

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‘Police lacking somewhere’

In response to a query on ‘koyta’ and the murder of the Pune call centre employee, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday said Pune is a huge city and it would be incorrect to conclude crime was on the rise here.

“Every single crime case must be taken seriously and police have managed to nab accused in all the cases. It is correct that some cases have taken place, but seeing the expanse of Pune, it would be incorrect to conclude that crime is on the rise. We are paying utmost attention to every case. Moreover, CCTV network is being expanded to curb crime.”

Yet, state Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar subtly warned senior Pune police officers for failing to address the city’s crime problem.

Pawar said, “Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis (who also holds the Home portfolio) has taken serious cognizance of these cases. Being a representative of this area, I have also taken this issue very seriously.”

Everyone understands there is no political influence in the functioning of the police, the NCP chief said, as per PTI, adding, “Despite being given various facilities in terms of infrastructure, housing, new offices, and manpower, if police are unable to rein in these crimes, then it shows senior officers in the force must be lacking somewhere. If they are not able to tackle the situation, they should admit it and we will bring better officers to control crime."

With inputs from agencies