PUNE: A painting worker (32) suffered deep cut injuries to his hands after two persons waylaid and attacked him with a knife before robbing his cellphone and cash on the Chakan-Shikrapur road at Rase village, on the outskirts of Chakan, late on Monday night.
Assistant inspector Vikram Gaikwad of the Chakan police said the victim, Moreshwar Panchal of Khed, was returning home after work. “He stopped at a secluded spot along the road to answer nature’s call around 10.45pm,” he said.
He said the two men on a motorcycle stopped near him. They got down and told Panchal to hand over his valuables to them. They also threatened him with sharp weapons.
“When Panchal resisted them, the duo assaulted him with sharp weapons. He suffered injuries to both of his hands,” Gaikwad said.
He said the duo then snatched Panchal’s cellphone worth Rs8,000 and Rs2,000 from his wallet. “The duo then drove away towards Shikrapur,” Gaikwad said.
He said Panchal immediately approached the police and filed a complaint. “He also provided us with the registration number of the motorcycle used by the duo,” the officer said.
Gaikwad said the police had approached the RTO (regional transport office) to get details of the motorcycle’s owner. “We are working on some clues,” he said.
The incident has brought to the fore the concern about safety of scores of workers as well as people visiting Chakan and adjoining parts of the industrial belt. (see box)
Dilip Batwal, the secretary of the Federation of Chakan Industries (FCI), told TOI, “There are over 700 companies in the industrial belt and all of them have installed CCTV cameras at their gates. Still, some areas in MIDC are not under the CCTV surveillance. We have requested the MIDC authorities to incorporate the clause of installing CCTV cameras while signing agreements with companies, so that the entire area was covered by them. This would help the police in detecting crimes,” Batwal said.
