An IT professional from Hinjewadi area in Pimpri-Chinchwad was waylaid and robbed by two men while he was returning home, on the Mumbai-Bengaluru highway, the police said Sunday. The incident took place on September 11.
The officers said two of the accused were arrested and an investigation is underway.
The arrested accused have been identified as Sahil Marathe (21), a resident of Bhukum and Harshal Sunil Gole (20), a resident of Pirangut, while the victim is identified as Parag Rastogi (47).
According to police, Rastogi was on his way home at around 8.20 pm on September 11, when the accused started arguing with him and robbed him of ₹7,000 and beat him up.
Assistant police inspector S Gogare said, “Accused alleged that, Rastogi’s vehicle collided with their bike. One of the accused further alleged that his mobile was broken in the incident hence the accused threatened, and beat up Rastogi. To avoid a police case accused threatened Rastogi and extorted money.’’
Gogare said, “This is very common modus of operandi in which accused hatch a fake accident plan in which they pretended that, they had suffered losses. Then they called their accomplice and created drama. As they are locals, they threatened the victim and demanded money to patch up. People don’t want to fight with locals and give them money.”
{{/usCountry}}Gogare said, “This is very common modus of operandi in which accused hatch a fake accident plan in which they pretended that, they had suffered losses. Then they called their accomplice and created drama. As they are locals, they threatened the victim and demanded money to patch up. People don’t want to fight with locals and give them money.”
{{/usCountry}}Police officials from Hinjewadi police station said that during interrogation it was further revealed that, the accused were involved in four to five similar waylaid cases in which they robbed people for a small amount from ₹5,000- ₹7,000.
VV Muglikar, senior police inspector at Hinjewadi police station, said, “In such cases, the accused try to rob people for a small amount because people generally try to avoid approaching the police to lodge a complaint. ‘’
Hinjewadi police have registered a case under Sections 392(Punishment for robbery), 504 (Intentional insult to any person leading to provocation), and 506 (Punishment for criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).