Three men rob lab technician, friend strolling on Pashan hill

Pune: A 34-year-old lab technician and his 30-year-old woman colleague were robbed of cash and valuables worth Rs1.07 lakh by three men on the Pashan-Sus hill around 6.45pm on Friday.

The man, who works at an MIDC Bhosari-based AIDS research facility, lodged a complaint with the Chatushrungi police on Saturday morning.

He stated that the three men were armed with wooden sticks and slapped his colleague before robbing them.

Assistant inspector Santosh Koli told TOI, “The complainant and his colleague had reached the Pashan-Sus hill for an evening stroll after finishing their day’s work, when they were stopped by the trio. The three men threatened them of dire consequences. Before the complainant could realise what was happening, one of the them slapped the woman.”

Koli said the trio then asked the woman to hand over her gold chain and gold ring to them. “The three men kept on threatening the complainant and asked him to hand over his gold ring to them. The suspects then frisked them and robbed their cell phones,” Koli said.

“The trio also robbed complainant’s wallet, which had cash, ID cards and driving licence. The suspects took the booty and ran from the spot,” he said.

“We are working on some clues based on the questioning of residents of the Sus-khind slums, evening walkers and an analysis of cellphone data to establish the culprits,” he added.

“When the incident happened, there was no one on the hill. After climbing down the hill, the victims approached the police and lodged a police complaint,” Koli said.

There have been several advisories from the police about safety on the hills for walkers.