This dance teacher survived an attempt on his life by his own student. Alert neighbours, however, caught him and his accomplice while they were trying to escape after stealing valuables from the teacher’s house in Kengeri.
The two are: Santosh (20) and Umesh (21).
According to the police, Santosh (20) joined Udayonmukh Music Centre, run by H R Pramod, in Kengeri. Pramod hails from Cuttack. Santosh and his friends - Umesh (21), Girish and Narasimhamurthy - hatched a plan to kill Pramod and burgle his house.
Speaking to Deccan Herald, Pramod said, “I have been running dance classes here in Bangalore for many years now. I teach dance to poor and talented youngsters. Many a time, I allow my students, who are poor, to stay with me. Two weeks ago, Santosh came to me and introduced himself. He said he was poor and wanted to learn dance. I believed him and allowed him to stay with me.
“On Sunday, around 9.30 pm, Santosh came with three persons. He said they were his friends and requested me to allow them to stay for one night. But I failed to understand their motive.”
Around 3 am on Monday, they tied me with a rope and demanded keys of the almirah. When I refused, they threatened to kill me. They tried to hang me, but I resisted. However, they snatched the keys from me and took the gold ornaments and other valuables worth Rs 9,800. When I screamed for help, neighbours rushed and caught them,” he said.
He said once his students had tried to kill him by offering him a poisoned cake on his birthday. He was staying on Bannerghatta Road then. “May be, my students feel I have money and try to kill me for money,” he said.
According to the police, Narasimhamurthy and Girish managed to escape. A search is on to nab them.