Gang assaulted worker with billhook an hour before robbing trader of Rs4 lakh

Pune: An hour before two men robbed a dry fruit trader of Rs4 lakh in Pimpri as reported by TOI on Oct 31, they allegedly assaulted a painting worker, along with three fellow gang members.While Pimpri police registered a case under Section 310 (dacoity) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) against the five accused, the Kalewadi police on Saturday booked three of them under Sections 109 (attempt to murder), 115 and 118 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means) of the BNS. Two of these accused had been arrested by the Pimpri police on Oct 30.An officer from Kalewadi police said a 23-year-old painting worker had an argument over a cellphone call with one of the members of a gang who lives in the same locality. “On Thursday night around 10 pm, when the complainant was returning home, three accused forced him to stop. One of them claimed to be the ‘Bhai’ of the area and started abusing the complainant for arguing with him.”The trio assaulted the complainant and further tried to attack him with sharp weapons. The complainant dodged the first blow but sustained severe injuries when another accused attacked him. When he raised an alarm, a few passersby tried to intervene, but the accused threatened them with dire consequences and fled. “Within 40 minutes, they ganged up with the two arrested men to target a dry fruit trader in Pimpri. Threatening him with a billhook, they robbed him of his scooter and the day’s collection of Rs4 lakh in the scooter’s boot,” the officer said.Police have recovered the trader’s scooter and another scooter from the accused. “However, three others are on the run,” the officer said.