Family mourns mum killed by stray bullet

Unexpected loss: Family members and friends paying their last respects at Indrani’s home in Johor Baru.

JOHOR BARU: P. Indrani (pic right), 78, sat in her front yard every night so that she could enjoy the breeze.

However, last Friday turned out to be the last time she would do so after she was hit by a stray bullet fired by a robber.

Her son S. Ganeson, 57, said his mother, who suffered a stroke six years ago, loved the breeze and would sit in the yard for a few hours every night.

“She had just eaten her dinner and was sitting outside. It never crossed my mind that it would be the last time she would get to do that, ” he said when met at his house here in Jalan Tun Fatimah 2 yesterday.

Ganeson added that he and four other family members were at home that night when they heard loud sounds coming from outside moments before the incident.

“My wife, my two children and I were not alarmed by the initial shots as we thought that it was just children playing.

“But the last two gunshots were very loud and we could also hear our neighbours screaming outside, ” he said.

When they opened the front door, they were shocked to see his mother on the floor with blood oozing from her head.

He said his family were further traumatised when they witnessed the man they believed had fired the shots pointing the gun at one of his neighbours, who had just returned home from work.

“The man forced my neighbour to surrender his motorcycle, ” Ganeson said, adding that the man and his accomplice then fled the scene with the stolen bike.

Indrani, a mother of five, was cremated at the Hindu crematorium in Jalan Kebun Teh yesterday.

Johor police chief Comm Datuk Mohd Kamaruddin Md Din said the incident took place at around 8.45pm on Friday.

“The two suspects had earlier broken into a house rented by six men and tried to rob them.

“They fired the first two shots in the house, with one hitting one of the tenants’ leg.

“However, they failed to carry out the robbery as the tenants fought back, ” he said, adding that the tenants then tried to chase the robbers.

He said the suspects fired two more shots as they were fleeing, with the last shot hitting Indrani.

Comm Mohd Kamaruddin said the case was being investigated under Section 302 of the Penal Code for murder, as well as Sections 3 and 4 of the Firearms (Increased Penalties) Act 1971 for discharging and exhibiting a firearm in the commission of a scheduled offence.