Dacoits rob and beat up cop, four others

PUNE, Jan 29: Five persons including a policeman travelling on the road linking Chakan to Alandi were injured when they were intercepted and attacked by a dozen unidentified men armed with sticks on Thursday night. The men relieved the travellers of booty worth over Rs 62,000. They tied up the victims and threw them behind some bushes before escaping.

Head constable Mahadeo Lokhande from Chakan police, who suffered serious head injuries, has been admitted to a private hospital in Pune. The other injured, Vinayak Babanrao Jadhav (20), Sunil Bhika Jadhav (22), Balu Dattu Jadhav and Ajay Pandharinath Thigale were discharged after first aid. Jadhav has lodged a First Information Report (FIR) at Chakan police station which says he and two of his friends were going towards Alandi on motorbikes when the incident took place.

The youths were at a lonely spot in the ghat near Alandi when they were signalled to stop. They were attacked, tied up and thrown behind the bushes.A short while later, the dacoits signalled Lokhande to stop and attacked him. He was give the same treatment before the dacoits sped away on the motorbikes.The victims lay in a helpless for nearly two hours. Some passers-by, who noticed the policeman’s motorcycle on the road, found them and shifted them the hospital.