Mohali shocker: Woman returning after late-night shift attacked outside her house

A call centre employee was brutally attacked with a baseball bat and hockey stick by two men waiting outside her house when she was returning after a late-night shift in the wee hours of Friday.

The woman, identified as Alisha Parashar, who resides in HE flats in Phase-1, Mohali, has suffered fractures in both hands. She is currently under treatment at the female surgery ward of Phase-6 civil hospital.

The woman’s husband, Siddharth Parashar, who also works at an international call centre and was at work at the time of the incident, said that the office cab had dropped Alisha outside the house around 2.45am.

As she was unlocking the door, a man attempted to strike her in the head with a baseball bat. Alisha instinctively used her hands to protect herself. Almost immediately, another assailant appeared with a hockey stick and both started hitting her repeatedly. The entire incident was captured on a closed-circuit television (CCTV) camera installed near her house.

‘Saved by neighbour, delivery boy’

The woman, in her statement to police, said that as the men were attacking her, she ran to her neighbours’ house. One of the neighbours rushed downstairs to help her and at the same time, a Zomato delivery boy, who happened to pass-by, also raised the alarm. Seeing them, the assailants fled on a motorcycle.

Case of mistaken identity suspected

Alisha told the police that she suspects the hand of a woman, with whom her sister recently had a confrontation, to be behind the attack. She said that her sister had stayed in their flat for about three to four months before moving to a paying-guest accommodation.

Alisha said that the woman had threatened to kill her sister. Her sister had reportedly also been receiving threat calls from different numbers for a while.

The victim claimed that a grocery store owner in their neighborhood had also alerted her that some youths had come to his shop, asking for her sister’s whereabouts. Alisha suspects that the attackers mistook her for her sister and attacked her.

Alisha’s husband meanwhile accused the company’s cab of breaking the protocol, saying that as a rule, the cab driver has to wait until a female employee enters the house, but that did not happen in the case.

Despite repeated attempts, the call centre authorities, where Alisha works, remained unavailable for comments.

Rajneesh Chaudhary, the SHO of Phase-1 police station, said, “The statement of the victim has been recorded. CCTV camera footage has been obtained to identify the attackers. A young woman suspected to behind the attack has been summoned for questioning. A case will be registered soon.”

Jyoti Yadav, SP, headquarters, said “A meeting will be conducted with operators of all call centres to check if they are following the safety protocols.”