PUNE: Three men in a car intercepted an assistant professor (29) from Aurangabad when he was walking from the National Chemical Laboratory gate to the University Chowk around 1.30am on July 20, assaulted him and fled with his cellphone after it fell on the road.
The victim had reached the National Chemical Laboratory (NCL) gate in an autorickshaw (hired from Wakdewadi) for staying with his friend after arriving in the city from Aurangabad by bus around 12.30am, the Chatushrungi police said. When he called his friend, the latter told him that he was standing at the wrong gate and he should walk towards the university, from where he could be picked up.
As the assistant professor started walking, the trio came in a car from the rear and started an altercation with him on some flimsy ground. One of them attacked him, the police said. The victim suffered cut injuries to his left thumb and left thigh, the police said.
The assistant professor on Thursday registered a police complaint. The police have invoked a charge under Section 329 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt) of the Indian Penal Code against the trio and are searching for them.
The police said the victim had pursued M Tech from the Savitribai Phule Pune University. He started from Aurangabad for Pune in a bus on the evening of July 19 to collect his varsity leaving certificate and related documents. He reached Wakdewadi in Pune around 12.30am on July 20. From there, he hired an autorickshaw to the NCL gate.
Citing the FIR, a police officer said, “The three men were travelling in a grey sedan in high speed. They stopped on seeing the victim walking alone around 1am. One of the suspects in the rear seat had a knife. The victim raised an alarm, but the man having the knife did not utter a word. He attacked the assistant professor with the knife on the latter’s left hand and left thigh.”
Senior inspector Rajkumar Waghchavre said on Friday, “The victim’s phone slipped from his hands and his specs fell on the road. The assailant picked up the cellphone worth Rs6,000 and sped away towards the University Chowk. The victim later narrated the incident to his friend, who rushed him to a private hospital for treatment. He was later shifted to another hospital, from where he was discharged on Thursday. He later visited the police station. We have not lodged an FIR related to robbery because the assailant did not snatch the cellphone and nor did rob cash or valuables.”
Sub-inspector Mohandas Jadhav, who is investigating the case, said, “The victim said in his statement that the assailant seemed to be aged around 30 years. He was wearing black shirt and trousers. The injured victim could not note down the car’s registration number because it was dark. We did not find CCTV cameras at the spot. We are analysing CCTV cameras at other places, working on certain clues and conducting technical investigations. We hope to detect the case at the earliest.”
(The victim's identity has not been revealed to protect her privacy as per Supreme court directives on cases related to sexual assault)
