‘I’m going to die’: Guard recalls supervisor’s distress call in Mira Road stabbing case | India News
New Delhi: “I’m going to die! I’m going to die! Please save me!” Trapped between life and death, Rajesh Mishra screamed into the phone, his voice muffled as he faced the knife.Rajesh Mishra, a supervisor, was seriously injured when he pleaded with Subroto Sen, a guard who himself survived the same fatal knife attack that was inflicted on Zaib Zubair Ansari.A wounded Subroto Sen ran to the back of the building and waited sadly to see what tragedy was about to unfold.Narrating to the police the sequence of events of the night in Mumbai’s Mira Road, which left him and his caretaker critically injured, Subroto Sen claimed that Zaib Zubair Ansari, 31, had approached him hours before he came with the intention to kill.“He asked, ‘Is there a mosque in front?’ I replied, ‘Yes, there is a mosque ahead on the right.’ He then asked, what is the name of the mosque? I told him, ‘I don’t know the name of the mosque.’ Zuber then asked, ‘Are you a Hindu?’ I answered ‘yes’,” Sen said, according to news agency IANS. He said the accused ran away first. But hours later, around 4 am, when Subroto went out to the tea stall, he found Zuber there again.By 4.30 am, when he returned to his duty post, a sense of uneasiness set in. Zuber was following him!Before he could react, the accused pulled out a knife, grabbed Subroto by the arm and lunged. Subroto tried to fight back, but not before being stabbed.In a desperate attempt to escape, he pushed away the attacker and ran towards his supervisor Rajkumar Mishra’s cabin.“However, Zuber also entered the cabin. Mishra was sitting on a chair inside. Before I could explain the situation or he could understand what was going on, Zuber — on seeing Mishra, immediately demanded, ‘You are a Hindu too, aren’t you? Otherwise recite the Kalma’.” Mishra was unable to read kalama. Zuber then started stabbing him repeatedly. Being seated on a chair, Mishra was unable to defend himself effectively,” said Subroto.Fearing for his life, Subroto fled to the back of the building. When the situation calmed down after a while, he called Mishra’s mobile phone. Mishra replied and pleaded sadly, “I’m going to die! I’m going to die! Please save me!”According to police officials, the accused approached the guards stationed at an under-construction building near Oakheart Hospital around 4.00 am on Monday. He asked them to recite the Kalma, an important Islamic declaration of faith, before launching the attack.Ansari has been taken into custody for his involvement in the attack, in which he questioned the victims about their religious identity before attacking them with a knife, which investigators suspect may have been a lone wolf-style incident by a radicalized man.The injured, Rajkumar Mishra and Subroto Sen sustained serious injuries and were admitted to a nearby hospital for treatment. Mishra managed to reach the hospital on his own despite his condition, while Sen was helped by Nayab Sheikh, a local resident.Police moved quickly after the attack, scanning CCTV footage from the area to track down the suspect. Ansari was tracked down and arrested within about 90 minutes. He was later taken to the Naya Nagar police station, where a case was registered against him for attempted murder and inciting communal enmity.After his arrest, Ansari was produced in a court in Thane, where he was sent to police custody till May 4.The investigation has widened with the local police working with the state’s Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS). Investigators are examining electronic devices seized from the accused to determine whether the attack was an isolated act or part of a larger pattern.Initial results pointed to notes containing references to “ISIS”, “lone wolf”, “jihad” and “Gaza”, IANS reported.The agency also claimed that Ansari spent several years in the United States, where his family members still reside. He reportedly returned to India after failing to secure stable employment.Back in India, he lived alone in Meera Road and earned a living by taking online chemistry classes.Investigators suspect he may have been radicalized through material he accessed online.
