Auto driver, aides rob man of valuables worth Rs 1 lakh in Pune

PUNE: An autorickshaw driver and his two accomplices, all carrying sharp weapons, allegedly thrashed and robbed a man (27) of valuables worth Rs1 lakh on the service road along Katraj-Dehu Road bypass in Bavdhan on Sunday night.
Balewadi resident Vaibhav Balwadkar filed an FIR with the Hinjewadi police on Monday.
The incident happened around 8pm when Balwadkar was heading home from a family function in Dhayari.“I had to stop along the bypass to relieve myself. An autorickshaw stopped near me and a man alighted from it. He then held a knife against my back and demanded to hand over valuables. He also snatched my wallet with Rs8,000 and a cellphone,” Balwadkar told TOI.
When Balwadkar resisted and kicked the assailant while banging his head against a tree, the other two suspects assaulted him. The suspects then punched Balwadkar in the face, snatched his gold chain and fled towards Wakad. “I informed my friends about the incident using my other cellphone and began chasing the auto. The suspects hurled one of the weapons at me. In a bid to dodge it, I lost my composure and fell off the bike,” Balwadkar said. “We are looking for the suspects based on the description given by the complainant,” an inspector from Hinjewadi police said.