Pune: Two men punctured the tyre of an electrical contractor’s scooter, diverted his attention on the pretext of asking an address and stole his
bag containing Rs 1.76 lakh from the vehicle’s luggage space in Wanowrie on Tuesday afternoon.
The incident occurred outside Ruby Hall Clinic at Azadnagar, minutes after the contractor had withdrawn cash from the Oriental Bank’s Wanowrie branch around 2.10pm.
The theft came to light after the contractor, Sanjay Narus Bhosale (49) from Azadnagar, found the bag stolen. He lodged an FIR with the Wanowrie police station.
“I left my house with Rs 56,000 around 1.30pm and reached the IDBI Bank to deposit money in the account of my brother. The bank guard asked me to come after sometime because of lunch break. I then visited Oriental Bank on Shivarkar Road and withdrew Rs 1.20 lakh for business purpose. I kept the money in the bag and put it in the luggage space of the scooter,” Bhosale said.
“I was on my way to Wanowrie circle when I realised that there was a puncture in the front tyre even as it was of a tubeless variety. I slowed down and rode to a a nearby puncture repairing shop at Azadnagar. An employee at the shop started repairing it when two persons on a bike reached the spot,” he said.
“One of them showed me an address written on a green card and asked me the direction of the place. I was reading the address when one of the men snatched the card from my hand, saying that his work was done and that he knew the address. The motorbike riders took a U-turn and fled rowards Wanowrie circle,” Bhosale told TOI.
On reaching home, the contractor found the luggage space was wide open and and the bag stolen. “I checked the CCTV footage of the bank and business establishments and identified one of the men. He was present at the Orinental Bank and was waiting outside. I realised that I was tricked. The man, about 5.5ft tall, was wearing a black cap,” Bhosale added.
Puncture shop employee Salim Khan said a pointed object was inserted into the side of the tyre. “Punctures are usually found below a tyre and not on its side. Two men came to our shop on a bike, filled air in tyres and paid me Rs 5. I saw one of them asking Bhosale about an address and finally speeding away,” he said.
Wanowrie police assistant inspector Asaram Shete said a theft case has been registered. “We are working on certain clues to arrest the bag lifters,” he said.
