A night of terror gripped residents of the upscale Purva Venezia apartment complex in Bengaluru's Yelahanka area on Monday, as the strong smell of gas sent panic rippling through the building. The source of the danger was as shocking as it was perilous.
Midnight Scare and a Shocking Discovery
Around 8 PM, the sharp, pungent odour of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) began permeating two floors of a residential block. Alarmed residents flung open their doors and spilled into the corridors, fearing an imminent explosion. Emergency services, including police and fire brigade personnel, were immediately summoned.
Upon arrival, the responders were stunned by what they found inside one of the flats. A woman in her 40s had accumulated six LPG cylinders, with the valves of some left in the open position. The situation was a ticking time bomb; a single spark or misstep could have ignited a blaze, endangering the entire structure.
A Pattern of Disturbing Behaviour
According to apartment block representative Geetha Prasad, this was not an isolated act by the resident. "It was a bizarre night," Prasad recounted. After the cylinders were removed, the woman proceeded to turn on the piped natural gas (PNG) line, forcing police and residents to struggle to regain control.
Prasad highlighted the catastrophic risk, stating, "Nearly 400 residents and staff could have lost their lives in their sleep had the incident occurred just a few hours later." The woman, reportedly from Madhya Pradesh and separated from her husband, had been living there for nearly two years.
Residents described a history of troubling behaviour, including using abusive language, playing loud music at odd hours, and letting her pet dog roam freely. Last month, she was allegedly taken into custody by Chikkaballapur police for reportedly knifing two men. She had previously been asked to move to another block within the complex due to these issues.
A Broader Concern for Apartment Communities
The chilling episode at Purva Venezia points to a larger, growing concern in Bengaluru's densely populated apartment complexes. Resident welfare associations are increasingly reporting encounters with individuals living alone who face severe mental health challenges. These situations, often hidden behind closed doors, pose grave risks not only to the individuals but also to hundreds of their neighbours.
The immediate question for managing committees is one of immense difficulty: how to ensure collective safety when a potential threat resides within a private home? In this case, as a precaution, a woman police constable was deployed at the apartment overnight to monitor the situation. The mystery of how the resident amassed so many cylinders remains unsolved, leaving the community on edge and searching for solutions to prevent such a close call from happening again.
