Every Friday, Anita’s husband Rajat, who owned a grocery supermarket, would come to deposit their weekly earnings. Today he was down with fever and here stood Anita, reluctantly waiting in a packed bank.
She glanced around, frustrated by the chaotic crowd.
Before she could begin the wait in the overwhelming deposit line, Anita felt a pressing need to visit the restroom.
As soon as she locked the door, shouts erupted outside. “Pull down the shutter!” a booming voice commanded. The shutter creaked shut. Panic and screams filled the air.
“Everyone, sit down and put your hands up!” the same deep voice ordered. Anita could hear terrified whimpers and cries for mercy. It dawned on her that the bank had fallen prey to robbers. It all clicked; the clusters of men pretending to be customers and those “filling out forms” were part of this gang—they had cleverly blended in.
Her heart raced in fear. She managed to regain her composure and fumbled for her phone in her bag. Tears welled in her eyes as she realised how little help it might offer—just yesterday, the display had gone dark, and she had planned to visit a mobile store after this to repair it. Anxiety flooded her as she remembered the battery was almost drained. She hadn’t charged it since it broke. Desperately, Anita punched in her husband’s number, feeling a flicker of relief when she heard the keypad beep.
“Hello?”
Rajat’s voice sounded different, likely due to his fever and sore throat, but Anita, in her panic, didn’t think much of it. “Rajat, the bank is being held hostage by robbers! I’m hiding in the washroom.”
“WHAT? Hello, ma’am, I’m not Rajat. Can you tell me which bank you’re in?”
Realising she had dialled the wrong number in her confusion, Anita was about to hang up. Then a thought struck her: anyone could help.
She gave the bank’s name.
“Madam, which branch?” The voice on the line was increasingly frustrated. Just then, silence fell. The battery had died.
“It’s all over,” she murmured, clutching her handbag. Time ticked. A gripping, fearful silence fell outside.
Then Anita heard a loud thud at the door. A thug burst in, yanked her out, and shoved her into a group of other frightened customers. He was about to grab her bag when police sirens blared.
Within moments, officers stormed in and took control of the scene. They seized a trunk filled with cash and another laden with jewelry.
“Who was calling for Rajat?” the sub-inspector inquired. Anita came forward.
“Thank you for dialing the wrong number. You’ve actually contacted the right person, the DSP.”
“The call was cut before I could mention the branch. How did…?”
“He knew it would take at least 20 minutes for tower tracking. He acted swiftly and dispatched officers to branches near railway lines upon hearing the whistle of a train during your call. Only four branches fitted the description.”
The customers looked at Anita with grateful glances.