BENGALURU: Five robbers who were out to rob an elderly man were beaten black and blue by Nelamangala residents on Monday. They came in an autorickshaw to rob an elderly man who was going to a nearby temple and were caught by passersby. The accused are Tousif, (19), Basavaraj, (18) and Nikhil, (20), residents of Andrahalli near Madanayakanahalli and all of them are unemployed. Two of their associates Manjunath and Abhishek managed to escape.
Police said that around 6.30 pm the gang went to Anand Nagar in auto and tried to snatch a mobile phone from an elderly man, who raised an alarm. Passersby chased the gang and caught three of them. The angry mob thrashed the trio brutally before alerting Nelamangala rural police. Their auto was seized by the police, two machetes and the chilly powder was found in it.
Since three of them were injured, they were taken to the government hospital and were later taken into custody. During interrogation, the accused confessed that they wanted money to buy alcohol. Manjunath, who owns the auto-rickshaw hatched the robbery plot. He along with Abhishek ran away, leaving behind the vehicle. Based on a complaint by Madusudan, one of the villagers, a case of robbery attempt has been filed against the gang and further investigations are on.
“We checked the background of the accused and found that it was their first attempt at robbing lone walkers. The locals who recorded the video of the gang getting beaten up is being analysed and a case has been filed against some villagers who kicked them brutally before handing them to the police”, the police officer added.