Thiruvananthapuram: A woman was shot with an air gun in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday. The incident happened at Vanchiyoor West Fort. The injured woman, identified as Shini, was immediately rushed to the hospital.

The incident took place around 9:30 am at Shini's house in the Chempakassery Residents Association, West Fort. It is reported that a young woman, who came to the house claiming to deliver a courier, shot Shini with an air gun. The masked assailant fled the scene after the shooting. Shini was shot in the hand and was immediately admitted to the hospital. The police arrived at the scene and started investigation.

Shini's father-in-law Bhaskaran Nair told media that the assailant came home saying that Shini had a registered courier. He explained that the assailant fired three times with an air pistol and once when she blocked the shot aimed at her face, Shini was shot in the palm of her hand.

The young woman wearing jeans and a shirt came home and the father-in-law answered the door bell. “As soon as I opened the door, she asked if Shini was at home. She said that Shini has a registered letter and it can be given only to her. I turned back from the door and called out to Shini. Shini said that she forgot her pen and I asked Shini to bring a pen along with her. This time the assailant took a large piece of paper. Underneath it was a box like a courier. As she was about to sign on it, the assailant pulled out a gun. Shini tried to block it with her hand. She was shot in her inner arm. The assailant then shot two more times”.

"No one knows the assailant. The woman who came had a good physique. I don't know if she came in a vehicle. My wife and daughter-in-law protected me, thinking that the next shot was aimed at me. When they screamed, all the neighbors came running," said Bhaskaran Nair.

Injured Shini is an employee at the Central Government's National Rural Health Mission (NRHM). Shini will be undergoing surgery to remove the pellet from her hand.