Morning walker, 77, suffers severe head injury in attack by 6 for money to buy liquor in Pune

PUNE: A 77-year-old man is battling for life as six youngsters, including three minors, looking for money to buy liquor randomly targeted and hit him on his head with an iron rod in Aundh around 5.15am on Thursday. The same group attacked two other men in the vicinity near Parihar Chowk.
DCP (Zone IV) Vijay Kumar Magar said the assailants had liquor the night before to celebrate a friend's birthday.They then came out on the road and attacked the three men in a bid to rob them for buying more liquor, he said.
Police said the elderly victim, Sameer Roy Chowdhury - a retired supervisor from an automotive company - was out for morning walk when he was attacked. He was admitted to a private hospital in Aundh with multiple injuries and in an unconscious state. Roy Chowdhury had not regained consciousness till late in the evening, the police said quoting a hospital certificate.
A representative of Sanjivani Vitalife Hospital, where Roy Chowdhury was first admitted, said the patient was brought in with multiple serious injuries on his body, his nose was bleeding and he was referred to a tertiary care unit, Jupiter Hospital, for higher treatment.
In a release, Jupiter Hospital only stated that the patient was transferred to them from another facility and was currently under treatment.
The other two victims, Shreyas Shetty (30), a quality assurance professional with a private firm, and Ram Sabit Kumar Mandal, a casual worker, were treated for injuries to the former's hand and the latter's shoulder at a private city hospital.
Magar told TOI, "We have detained four suspects, including three minors in the 15-17 years age group, based on CCTV footage of the attack. We are searching for two more accomplices."
Shetty was on his way to his workplace on a bicycle at the time of the attack, he told the Chatushrungi police. He said four of the assailants were riding on a scooter and intercepted him before asking for money. When he resisted, they attacked him and one of them hit him with an iron rod. The assailants also chased Shetty when he tried to run away. While running, he saw two more assailants reach in an autorickshaw and assault Mandal. Later, when he reached the hospital, he learnt that the gang had also assaulted Roy Chowdhury.
Magar said investigations revealed that the attackers were from a slum in Aundh and were inebriated before the crime spree. He said, "As the suspects accosted Roy Chowdhury, one of them hit him with the rod on his head as he was not carrying money. The suspects also tried to rob Mandal."
Shetty told TOI, "The attacker carrying the iron rod tried to hit me thrice on my head, but I foiled him by putting my left hand in between. I suffered a sharp cut injury below my elbow joint and got four stitches. I abandoned my bicycle and ran away, fearing an escalation. I saw the robbers running to the other side of the road and attacking two men. They then sped away in an autorickshaw. I gave information about the robbery bid to the Chatushrungi police and registered an FIR with them."
ACP (East region) Manoj Patil said the witness account given by the injured victims and an analysis of CCTV cameras confirmed that the six suspects, all school dropouts, arrived in an auto and on a bike, and tried to rob the three men. "The condition of Roy Chowdhury, a resident of Aundh, is serious. He was staying with his wife and son," said the officer.
Patil added, "We will step up night patrolling with one more team. Mobile vans will also be patrol the crime spot."
(Inputs by Steffy Thevar)