Miscreants mug elderly scientist near gurdwara

Three people who robbed a mobile phone and other valuables from an elderly scientist walking near a gurdwara shoved him to the ground and fled when he raised an alarm.

The victim has been identified as 70-year-old Dr D V Amla, a retired scientist who served in the National Botanical Research Institute of CSIR in Lucknow and a resident of Tarapore Officers Colony in the city.

In his complaint to the Halasuru police station, Amla said as he walked towards the MEG Centre from the gurdwara road at 7.30 pm on January 27, two youngsters intercepted him. Before he realised what was happening, one of them took his mobile phone from his shirt pocket.

When they asked him to part with his other valuables, Amla refused to give any money. At that point, one more youngster joined them and the trio forced him to retrieve the wallet.

“I realised I couldn’t fight them anymore. I ran towards the crowded section and approached a motorist for help. The trio ran behind me and tried to rob my wallet,” the scientist said.

By then, a few commuters came to Amla’s rescue. On seeing the rescuers, the youngsters shoved Amla hard and fled the scene. Amla fell down and sustained minor injuries.

One of the commuters dialed 100, as Amla described his encounter with the trio. The Hoysala patrol team took the elderly scientist to the Halasuru police station and helped him file a complaint. When the process was complete, they even dropped him home.

After visiting a hospital in Kundalahalli, Amla was returning home on a BMTC bus. He got down at Trinity Circle and was walking home, as he did not get an autorickshaw, when the encounter with the youngsters happened.

An investigating officer quoted the victim as saying that the youngsters were aged between 18 and 20. “We’re verifying the CCTV footage in the surrounding areas to ascertain the background of the trio. Amla is in the city to help his daughter, who is married to an army officer and recently had a baby,” the officer said.