Shops are closing early in Horamavu-Agara after the neighbourhood witnessed five armed crimes, all in the evening hours.
Four muggings and an attempt to murder were reported in third week of August, and police say they have arrested two men involved in the crimes.
A gang of four committed the first four crimes on one night, and the fifth a week later, police say.
The gang first attacked an Amazon delivery executive on Agara Main Road and took away his money and phone. They went further up the same road and attacked a Swiggy delivery partner and snatched his phone as well. They threatened him with a machete and the scuffle left a deep bruise on his right arm.
Riding on two bikes with faces covered, the gang also raided two shops. They brandished their arms and made away with Rs 13,000 from a grocery store and Rs 3,000 from a haircutting salon. These incidents took place between 9 and 9.30 pm, police say.
In the fifth incident, unidentified men wielding machetes chased a tender coconut vendor on Agara Main Road around 7.30 pm. Police suspect gang rivalry.
CCTV footage shows people scurrying for cover when the men arrived on bikes, brandishing their weapons in the air.
Mahesh Kumar, an eyewitness, was coming out of the grocery store as the action unfolded.
“My wife had gone out before me. She screamed and ran back into the store. We saw four men with knives chasing a man and his wife. We have been living in this area for 10 years and had never seen anything like this. We now don’t stir out after 7 pm,” he told Metrolife.
The owner of the grocery store is wary. “Our business was down by 50% for almost two weeks after the incident,” he says.
Many shops in the area are downing their shutters at 8 pm after these incidents.
Rajesh (name changed), owner of a grocery store, just escaped being attacked. “It was around 9.15 pm. I was about to close the shop when I saw four masked men armed with long knives. They entered my shop and I ran out of the back door. My mind went blank from the shock,” he says.
His right leg is slow because of an earlier injury, and he feels lucky he escaped without being attacked.
Rajesh has been living in the area for 30 years and says such incidents were unheard of. “I lost Rs 13,000. I now close the shop at 8 pm,” he told Metrolife.
His mother Sujatha, who vends tea and snacks, fears for his life.
“How can we carry out business if it is like this?” she wonders.
Hennur police say one of those arrested fell from the fifth floor of a building and suffered injuries.
“He is the main accused and we will be able to get more details from him once he recovers,” the inspector in charge told Metrolife.
He says he has intensified patrolling and spoken to citizens to instil confidence in them.
What happened
Gang of four with machetes attacks two food delivery executives, injures one.
They then enter two shops and take away
Rs 13,000 and Rs 3,000 from their cash boxes.
As people scurry for cover, another armed gang chases a tender coconut vendor in an attempt to murder him.
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