BENGALURU: A 58-year-old retired Army man spent a nightmarish evening in Bengaluru on Christmas Day when a gang abducted and robbed him near Majestic. Machaiah PM, a resident of Bellumadu village in Virajpet taluk of Kodagu district, had come to Bengaluru on December 25 for medical treatment at Command Hospital. According to his complaint, he was staying at Kengeri Gateway lodge on Cottonpet Main Road. Around 7.30pm, he went out to get a photocopy of his military ID card and have dinner. Three men followed him in an autorickshaw, stopped him, covered his face with a cloth and warned him not to raise an alarm. They threatened him with a knife, Machaiah said.
Scared, Machaiah allowed himself to be pulled into the auto. During the ride, they abused and assaulted him, and he had no idea where the miscreants were taking him. He said he was made to sit between two men, who held knives on both sides of his abdomen. They warned him not to attempt to escape, and after an hour, stopped at a deserted spot.
They removed the cloth from his face, and beat him up. They robbed him of Rs 12,000 cash, three gold rings, one silver ring, his wallet and two mobile phones. The trio, who demanded that he give them more money, stabbed him on his stomach and abdomen. Machaiah said that he escaped from the gang and reached a security guard deployed at a distance.
He explained what had happened, and asked where he was. The guard told him it was Manyata Tech Park, around 14km away from Majestic. He helped Machaiah call the police and reach hospital. After getting treated for his injuries, Machaiah returned to the lodge and filed a complaint with Cottonpet police.
According to an investigating officer, the trio spoke to Machaiah in the local language. He was not able to note down the registration number of the auto, as his face was covered. Based on his complaint, police took up a case of kidnap, robbery, dacoity, with attempt to cause death or grievous hurt, and formed a team to nab the men.Machaiah allegedly had a financial dispute with someone, so police are checking to see if the person had a hand in the abduction.