Streetside savagery: Man attacked by mugger claiming to be cop

A man trying to pass off as a policeman stabbed a 35-year-old zone manager of a private housing finance company.

So severe was the attack that the manager, Santosh Kumar Pati, needed 18 stiches to his abdomen.

At 4.30 pm on November 16, Pati, a JP Nagar resident hailing from Odisha, took a break from work at his office in Sangam Circle in Jayanagar 8th Block and went for a walk along 28th Cross, 3rd Main Road in Jayanagar 7th Block.

A bike-borne man stopped Pati and told him he was a policeman. Before Pati could process what was happening, the stranger asked him to hand over the cash he possessed. Pati told the stranger he had none and walked off, but the stranger blocked his way, rained abuses in Kannada and Hindi and demanded money.

When Pati asked why he should give money to a stranger, the man brandished a thermocol cutter and threatened to kill him if he did not hand over the money. Pati attempted to respond and escape, but the stranger stabbed him on the left side of the abdomen. The stranger then sped away, leaving a severely bleeding Pati on the streetside.

Pati got himself admitted to a hospital with his friend’s help and was discharged on Saturday. “I got 18 stiches,” Pati said. “Despite many people being present on the street, no one came to my rescue because they were not aware that the man was trying to rob and attack me.”

Jayanagar police have registered a case after taking a complaint from Pati in the hospital.

“According to him, the man had come on a red Bajaj Pulsar bike, but did not note the registration number. We are verifying CCTV footage of the surrounding spots to ascertain clues. Efforts are on to nab the absconding miscreant,” a senior officer said.