Family of ATM attack victim determined to celebrate daughter’s birthday

Jyothi Uday’s family is determined not to let Tuesday’s attack come in the way of the celebrations of her daughter’s birthday. The child, who turns four on Friday, has been under the care of relatives and friends since the attack as the family does not want her to see Ms. Jyothi in the ICU. Jyothi’s husband Uday said, “We didn’t want this attack to affect her as well.” Ms. Jyothi had gone to the ATM on Tuesday morning to withdraw money for her daughter’s birthday when she was attacked.

Ms. Jyothi, a native of Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, resides in Rajarajeshwarinagar with her husband and daughter. Her parents passed away a few years ago. She has a sister and brother.

'Risked life for a few thousand rupees'

Colleagues of Jyothi Uday revealed that she risked her life for a few thousand rupees. An official of Corporation Bank revealed that the sum total in two of her accounts is Rs. 9,000.

The assailant had taken three debit cards from her wallet. However, police said, none have been used after the attack.

Colleagues of Ms. Jyothi, who works as a manager in the service branch on Mission Road, said that they learnt the identity of the victim more than three hours after the attack.

Vittal Rao, senior manager in the service branch, said the staff had a heavy work load on Tuesday but Ms. Jyothi had not come in at her usual time. “We heard of an attack on a woman in the ATM near Corporation Circle. It was only after 11 am did we learn that the victim was our colleague,” he said.

Mr. Rao said that they struggled to contact her husband as they only had Ms. Jyothi’s mobile number. “By the time, we contacted him, he was on his way to the hospital after being informed by the police,” he said. The colleagues had called on Ms. Jyothi in the hospital to enquire about her well-being.

“Our only worry right now is her recovery. We have offered help as well. Besides relatives, even the couple’s neighbours are helping them,” Mr. Rao said.

He said that Ms. Jyothi had been working in the marketing department of the bank before moving to general banking. She started working in the Mission Road branch about two years ago.