Two hours with 10-cm dagger in neck: partner saves fish trader from moneylender's murderous attack

Kasaragod: Around 1 am on Monday, fish trader Anil Kumar (30) was brought to AJ Hospital in Mangaluru with a 10-cm dagger still lodged in the back of his neck. He was restless but unable to express himself clearly, doctors said.

For nearly two hours, he fought to stay conscious- bleeding from at least five stab wounds on his chest, abdomen, and arms- while his business partner, Ahammed Althaf C K (33), stayed by his side, first rescuing him from the murderous attack near Kumbla, and then rushing him through hospitals in Kumbla and Mangaluru.

Dr Dinesh Kadam, head of the Department of Plastic Surgery at AJ Hospital & Research Centre, said it was rare for anyone to come in with a 10-cm dagger stuck deep behind the neck and survive. "I have seen people come in with knives pierced into the chest or arm, but this is rare," the veteran plastic surgeon told Onmanorama.

And this was no ordinary knife. "The dagger had reverse serrations (barbs). If someone had pulled it out, it could have torn everything around," he said.

Anil Kumar was also lucky that the blade missed the major blood vessels supplying the brain and the spinal cord. "It damaged only the soft tissues," he said.

After nearly two hours of surgery, the dagger was removed, and other wounds were stitched up. "He is under observation but out of danger," said Dr Kadam.

The ambush
On Sunday night, Anil Kumar, a fish wholesaler who supplies to retailers and restaurants across Kumbla, Badiadka, and nearby panchayats, received a call from Akshay (34) to settle a financial dispute involving a restaurant owner in Seethamgoli, 7 km east of Kumbla. "Akshay is into betting and moneylending, and Anil had introduced the restaurant owner to him," said Althaf.

But Akshay and Anil have a violent past, too. Around two years ago, Akshay and his aide Mahesh had tried to attack Anil Kumar at his fish shop in Badiadka, said Althaf. "But Anil is a strong man. He thrashed them and handed them over to the police. It was humiliating for them because they got beaten up and were also remanded in custody," he said.

Politically, Anil, Akshay, and his men are all aligned with the BJP. Mahesh and several of his associates were affiliated with the BMS, the trade union of the RSS, said Althaf.

So when Akshay called on Sunday night, it did not seem unusual for Anil. Still, he decided to take his business partner Althaf along.

Althaf, who also deals in used vehicles, drove his Thar. The duo reached TK Hotel in Seethamgoli around 11 pm. "We saw Akshay, Mahesh, and about 11 others there. At least seven of them had daggers or long knives," said Althaf.

Moments before they arrived, they had received a call asking them to stay inside the car while other mediators handled the discussion. "But as soon as we reached, they dragged Anil out of the car and started stabbing him," he said.

"The men with Mahesh were new, some of them educated," he said. The person who stabbed Anil on the back of the neck was Ajesh, a former medical representative, said Althaf.

Althaf said he immediately reversed his car into the gang to push them away, then pulled Anil into the vehicle and sped to the District Cooperative Hospital in Kumbla. "The men who didn't have weapons threw stones at my car and damaged it," he said.

At the cooperative hospital, Althaf asked the doctors to pull out the knife. "But they told us to take him to Mangaluru," he said. From there, Anil was shifted by ambulance to AJ Hospital.

The arrest
Based on Althaf's complaint, Kumbla Police booked three men- Akshay, his aide Mahesh, and another named Bai- and 10 unnamed persons for attempt to murder, and six other offences under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Police said Akshay has been arrested, and a search is on for the remaining 12 accused.