PUNE: An IT professional from Bavdhan, who had gone for a stroll with his wife, four-year-old daughter, and sister-in-law near the quarry on Vetal Tekdi, was threatened by a man with a broken liquor bottle and robbed of Rs 7,000 around 11.30am on Saturday. The victim later lodged a complaint with the Chatushrungi police.
There have been several incidents of people being accosted, robbed and threatened in the past while on their walks on Vetal Tekdi and the surrounding hillocks, prompting the Pune police to issue warnings, intensify patrolling, and nab the offenders.
When contacted, the victim told TOI that he usually visited the hillock in the early morning hours when there are many people going up or down the hill.
“On Saturday, we went to Vetal Tekdi a little late, around 11am as I had some work to complete. There was no one except for the four of us on the hillock. We reached a spot near a quarry on the top around 11.30am. We noticed two men near the water. Both of them appeared drunk, and we ignored them,” he said.
After a while, he said, one of them approached him and struck up a conversation. “He told me that he knew where I was working, and all of a sudden grabbed me from behind. He then pulled out a broken liquor bottle from the pocket of his trousers and threatened to stab me. The person then demanded money or liquor from me. I told him, I had Rs500, but he demanded more money.”
The techie said he was concerned about the safety of his family. “I did not want my daughter to see something that would affect her badly, so I gave him Rs500 more. The man did not stop at this. He snatched my wallet which contained Rs7,000 and fled towards a small path leading to a nearby colony. The other man was not to be seen there. We immediately left the spot. On the way, we alerted a couple and a group of three students who were climbing the hillock,” the victim said.
He then contacted the police control room. Two marshals from the Kothrud police reached the hillock and took the techie back to the spot. They brought him to the Erandwane police chowkey.
He was then advised to approach the Chatushrungi police station. “The Chatushrungi police were cooperative. They too came with me to the spot. They told me to share a detailed description of the duo. I then went to the police station and filed a complaint application,” the techie added.