In a desperate bid to evade arrest, 41-year-old Raju Pushpakar Kamble, held his victim Shyam Keshav Randive (75) as hostage for nearly 25 minutes. He surrendered when the police and central fire brigade personnel attempted to storm the first floor flat to rescue the victim.

Randive, who suffered deep wounds on his neck and temple in the attack, was admitted to a private hospital after being rescued. He was stated to be out of danger.

Randive, a retired man, lives in Building A of the society along with his wife. Their children have settled abroad. Kamble, who was acquainted with Randive visited the couple and chatted with them for nearly an hour on Wednesday morning.

He rang the doorbell of the flat immediately after Randive's wife went out shopping around 4.15 p.m. He had covered his face with a scarf.

He attacked Randive immediately after he opened the door. Alarmed by the victim's cries for help, some neighbours locked up the door of Randive's residence from the outside and rang up the Bibvewadi police chowki.

Constable Madhukar Shinde, among the first to reach the spot, claimed that Kamble charged at him after he opened the bolted door. Kamble locked himself in the flat while Shinde went to summon reinforcement from Sahakarnagar police station.

Assistant police inspector Dattatray Sonavane tried in vain to convince Kamble to surrender. Finally, he decided to force entry inside Randive's flat and summoned a ladder from the central fire brigade. Kamble opened the door when the policemen started scaling the balcony. Preliminary investigations have revealed that Kamble was previously arrested for suspected involvement in some chain-snatching incidents in Mumbai.