Stabbed techie dies, wife delivers son after 12 hours

Less than 12 hours after a techie died of a stab injury, his wife delivered a baby boy in the same hospital where he was initially treated, unaware that her husband is no more.

Mamatha’s family members are trying hard to keep the tragic news under wraps as she gave birth to a baby boy at Radhakrishna Hospital in Girinagar around 1 pm on Tuesday. “When she went into labour this morning, we told her that her husband Guru Prashanth was still in the ICU, able to talk and in a stable condition while we knew that he was no more and breathed his last around 1.40 am on Tuesday at BGS Hospital,” Guru Prashanth’s uncle Siddaraju told DH.

Thirty-one-year-old Guru Prashanth’s wife Mamatha went into labour on Tuesday morning and was admitted to the labour ward of Radhakrishna Hospital, where Prashanth was admitted with a stab injury under his left ear on September 6 and later shifted to BGS Hospital. Prashanth, a resident of Banashankari 3rd Stage in Girinagar was stabbed by a cyber cafe staffer after an argument over rates for printouts.

On September 6 evening, Prashanth visited a temple near his house and headed to a cyber cafe near Raghavendra Mutt to get some printouts of his resume. Prashanth worked as a systems administrator with Wipro Technologies in Bellandur, the police said.

At the cybercafe, as Prashanth wanted printouts, the staffer asked him to give the print command.

When he gave the command, the colour printer started printing out his resumes.

Since the printouts were in black and white, Prashanth argued with Karthik, the cyber cafe staffer, why was he being charged for colour printouts which are Rs 10 per copy while the black and white printout costs only Rs 2.

Heated arguments ensued between the two when Prashanth slapped Karthik who was trying to push him out of the cafe. In the melee, Karthik grabbed a screwdriver and stabbed Prashanth under his left ear.

Prashanth, who was pushed out of the cafe, fell on the road unconscious. A few passersby rushed him to the nearby Radhakrishna Hospital where doctors advised shifting him to another hospital. Prashanth’s family members, including Siddaraju, was informed after which he was shifted to BGS Hospital in Uttarahalli. But Prashanth succumbed in the wee hours of Tuesday while his pregnant wife was getting into labour, Siddaraju said.

Siddaraju, who is the complainant in the case, is Prashanth’s brother-in-law. He along with his sister Siddagangamma, and her husband Hanumantharayappa and Prashanth’s parents conducted the final rites at the T R Mill crematorium on Tuesday evening while Mamatha, with her newborn at the hospital, were unaware of the tragic incident.

“Colleagues and employees (Wipro staff) were extremely helpful in supporting and guiding us going through the entire ordeal when all the family members were emotionally wrecked,” Siddaraju said.