A 25-year-old student was brutally attacked in front of a crowd at a bus stop near Dadar railway station, but there seem to be no eyewitnesses. At least not those who want to come forward and testify against the attacker.

Vijay Sangelkar, 35, mistook Sonal Lapashiya for his wife and attacked her with a sickle on Monday morning. The Matunga police are now gathering evidence against Vijay.

“Our men had gone to the spot to look out for eyewitnesses, but found no one,” said a police official. The police were hoping to find a regular who came to the bus stop to take the 8.45am bus. “We are not sure if people are deliberately avoiding becoming eyewitnesses to keep away from legal processes or we have been unable to find them,” added the official.

Inspector N Tungare from Matunga police station said, “While we have not been able to track people who were present when the incident took place, we have five to six policemen – stationed at Swaminarayan temple – who saw the incident and will be eyewitnesses.”

Victim shifted out of ICU, recovering
Three days after being assaulted, Sonal was shifted out of the intensive care unit of Bombay hospital on Thursday afternoon. She will be discharged in a few days, said doctors.

Sonal underwent a major surgery on Monday for multiple cuts on her face, neck and a fracture on her skull and hand.

She won’t be able to take her Company Secretary examinations next week as both her hands are in casts.

Doctors suspect that Sonal might find it difficult to move her fingers and open and close her fist because of the fracture. Although injuries on her face, are not serious, Sonal might have permanent scars on her lower face and neck.