It was a night of terror for five-year-old Priya.
Woken suddenly from deep slumber, she was confronted with a terrible scene. “Uncle, please don’t hit mama and papa,” the terrified child pleaded. But the man intent on clubbing her parents to death paid no heed.
Priya was shocked to recognise him. It was Karthik, a man who worked at her parents’ restaurant on Cottonpet Main Road. Within minutes, he turned to her. “You might talk, so I will kill you,” he said, hitting her with the iron rod.
But despite severe head injuries, Priya survived and gave a detailed statement to the police from NIMHANS. “She probably fell unconscious and he left her for dead,” said SN Sidramappa, DCP (crime).
But Tuesday night’s attack claimed the lives of Priya’s parents – Pawan Kumar Sharma and his wife Babita Devi. The police have not been able to locate the accused or establish a motive for the murder.
No decision has been taken on the future of Priya, who is still under sedation. “We are in shock. Even the cremation has not been held,” said Sharma’s cousin Suman Maheshwari.