Pune: A 23-year-old man traveling in a shared rickshaw was brutally assaulted and robbed by the rickshaw driver and his accomplices late at night.
The incident took place on September 27 when Amrut Vasant Pawar, a laborer from Bibwewadi, boarded a rickshaw from Swargate to his home. The Swargate Police have registered a case of robbery and are investigating the matter.
According to the police report, Pawar had finished work at Sinhagad Road along with his colleague Daji Anil Rathod. At around 9:30 p.m., they reached Swargate by bus, and Rathod helped Pawar get into a shared rickshaw for his onward journey to Bibwewadi.
As the rickshaw neared Lakshminarayan Chowk, one of the passengers got off, and soon after, the rickshaw was turned around.
The situation took a dark turn when a passenger seated behind Pawar snatched his mobile phone and began hurling abuses over it. When Pawar demanded the return of his phone, the passenger made a shocking demand for ₹5,000 in exchange.
In an attempt to get his phone back, Pawar handed over ₹500 and then called his in-laws to arrange for an additional ₹4,000.
The rickshaw driver then took Pawar’s phone and demanded that he provide the passwords for all his accounts. Meanwhile, another accomplice in the back seat forcibly removed the silver chain that Pawar was wearing.
When they reached Lullanagar Bridge, the rickshaw stopped, and the group instructed Pawar to collect ₹2,000 from a friend waiting at a nearby stall. However, as soon as Pawar got out and crossed the road, the rickshaw driver and his accomplices fled the scene, leaving him stranded.
The Swargate Police, led by Sub-Inspector Ravindra Kasapte, are investigating the case.