Man assaulted, looted by three during auto ride

Bhopal: Three men, including an auto-driver allegedly assaulted a 36-year-man, who boarded the vehicle in the wee hours of Sunday in Hanumanganj locality, and robbed his cash and mobile phone. SHO Hanumanganj Mahendra Singh Thakur said that the complainant Malkhan Singh, 36, a resident of Sardar Patel Nagar in Mangalwara, works as a porter in Karond Mandi. He stated in his complaint that on Sunday around 2.30am, he left home to go to Karond Mandi on foot. When he reached near Hari Majar on Hamidia Road, he spotted a CNG auto-rickshaw parked in which three youths including two passengers and the auto-driver were sitting. He went and sat between both the youths sitting on the passenger seat to reach his destination. As soon as the vehicle crossed Bhopal Talkies Square and moved towards Sindhi Colony Square, the accused sitting beside him tried to take out his mobile phone kept in his trouser pocket. When he resisted, one of the accused punched him hard over the left eye. The trio stopped the vehicle and attacked him. They assaulted him and robbed his mobile phone along with cash Rs 150 kept in his pocket and fled the spot in their vehicle. He returned home and narrated the incident to his wife in the morning. Later, he approached Hanumanganj police and lodged a complaint. SHO Thakur said that a case on charges of loot was registered against the unidentified accused and search was on to nab them. Police were scanning the footage of CCTV cameras installed in the area to identify the accused.