Gurugram: Senior MNC executive mugged on Golf Course Road

GURUGRAM: Out on an early morning walk, the country head of a sanitary fittings multinational company was ambushed by four men on motorcycles who followed him on Golf Course Road and pushed him to the ground before snatching his gold chain on Thursday.
A police complaint was registered, but the probe stumbled at the very beginning since there was no video evidence from CCTV cameras in one of the city's most upscale neighbourhoods.

Police suspect that another snatching incident near Galleria Market, which happened just an hour later and was almost identical to the one on Golf Course Road, may have been carried out by the same gang.
The 53-year-old executive, Bobby Joseph, said he went jogging at Central Park and was later walking on Golf Course Road when the incident took place near Sikanderpur metro station around 5.15am.
"I took a turn towards the metro station when I noticed two men on a bike following me. Initially, I ignored them and kept walking, but two more men joined on another bike. I saw that their motorcycles did not have number plates. After that I was sure that something was amiss," the executive, who lives in a condominium on Golf Course Road, told TOI.
The men allegedly pushed him to the ground, grabbed him by his neck and yanked the gold chain off him before fleeing on their bikes. "It was fortunate that I was not injured. But you never know what could have happened. That it happened near prime localities of Gurugram during a morning walk is what shocked me the most," he added.
Joseph said he filed a police complaint later and was surprised to find out that CTV cameras in the area were not functional. "Police asked me to join them at the spot of the incident. At that time, we found out that the CCTV cameras were not working," he said, adding the Gurugram administration needed to pull up its socks. "They should ensure that the cameras work... police can do little if the administration hasn't done its work," the executive said.
Police said they had registered an FIR at Sushant Lok police station and booked the unidentified accused under IPC Section 379B (snatching). An officer agreed the investigation would be more "difficult" without video proof.
"Everyone had their own reasons stating why the cameras were not working... So yes, it becomes a little difficult," said a police officer who wished to remain anonymous.
The officer said there were private security cameras installed near the metro station that could have captured the incident but those were not functional. There are no CCTV cameras put up by the Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA) near the spot, the officer added.
A GMDA official said the agency has put up cameras in places recommended by the traffic police. "We have installed cameras at junction areas and traffic lights. It is possible that cameras were not installed there (at the site of snatching). The cameras are not all over the city," said Neha Sharma, GMDA's public communication officer.
The morning's second snatching happened around 6am. A 45-year-old resident of Sector 56 and manager of a private bank was cycling when four men on two motorcycles snatched his gold chain near Galleria Market, about 3 to 4km from Golf Course Road.
A second FIR has been registered at the Sector 29 police station in this case. "We are investigating the matter. We suspect that the same gang carried out both incidents. but we aren't sure for now," said a police officer. While this snatching was captured on CCTV cameras, it wasn't clear if the footage had been shared with Joseph for identification.