A delivery boy, wanting to pacify a crying woman software engineer whose mobile was stolen by two robbers, ended up having his face slashed by one of the fleeing suspects.
Reaching South End Circle after delivering food, 22-year-old N Surya found his colleagues in the company of a crying woman. Surya was told that she had her mobile just stolen by a pair of scooter-riding robbers, who had sped away despite being chased by some delivery boys.
He handed his friend’s mobile to Anusha Valluri and asked her to type her mobile number on an app. The app, meant to locate mobile phones, showed that Anusha’s mobile was nearly four kilometres away. Surya teamed up with his friend Pandiyan and went after the fleeing robbers. When they reached Lalbagh, Surya realised he could no longer trace Anusha’s mobile on the app and knew that the robbers had turned it off.
On a hunch that they may be close by, Surya split from his friend and began searching for the robbers in the by-lanes. He found them drinking tea at Brahmalingeshwara Condiments, on Nala Road, SGN Layout, Vinobha Nagar.
The robbers identified Surya as the person chasing them from the T-shirt of his food delivery company. One of them asked the other to “hand over a tool” and was given a dagger, which he brandished at Surya.
“I told him I only wanted the mobile phone back and did not intend to catch or harm them,” Surya said. The robbers, who spoke in Kannada and were in their early 20s, stabbed Surya and slashed the left side of his face.
When Surya tried calling out to Pandiyan, the robbers fled the scene threatening to kill him if he followed them or called others to catch them.
“Ten people were around (in the tea stall), but no one came to my rescue. If they had helped, we would have caught the robbers and handed them over to the police,” Surya said.
“If I had suspected that they were carrying weapons, I would have borrowed pepper spray from a woman delivery executive working with us.”
Surya received treatment at The Bangalore Hospital with Pandiyan’s help. Anusha visited him at the hospital. The duo later lodged a complaint at the Siddapura police station. Based on her complaint, police registered a robbery case.
Police directed Surya to lodge a complaint with the Kalasipalyam police since his attack happened in that jurisdiction. The Kalasipalyam police have taken up a case under charges of causing hurt by dangerous weapon or means.
A senior officer said the muggers have been captured on three CCTV cameras. “We are making efforts to nab them,” he said.
Anusha, who stays at a paying guest accommodation, was on her way to work when the robbery happened.
Prime location
One of the prime locations in South Bengaluru, the busy South End Circle also houses the office of the Deputy Commissioner of Police (South). Even Lalbagh and Vinobha Nagar, where Surya got stabbed, are crowded areas.
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