BENGALURU: ‘Iron Man’ Arjun Iyengar (47), who was out on a morning walk, was attacked and robbed by three scooter-borne teenagers near Bashyam Circle at Sadashivanagar around 6 am on Saturday.
One of the three teenagers pushed him, while another grabbed his high-end mobile phone and fled on a waiting scooter, which was kept running by the third person.
A bruised and shaken Arjun filed a complaint with Sadashivanagar police, who have launched a hunt for the accused. The police suspect them to be professionals considering their modus operandi. Arjun is a techie who works in the healthcare sector and stays in the US. He, his wife and two children are on a visit to Bengaluru, his hometown.
Arjun has completed one of the world’s most gruelling sports, the ‘Iron Man’ triathlon, multiple times. The race includes a 42 km run, 180 km of bicycling and 3.5 km of swimming. The latest race he took part in was two years ago, which he completed in about 16 hours. He has completed the Iron Man four times and half-Iron Man 12 times.
He has visited around 50 countries. Though he has been to some of the most dangerous countries in the world, including Rio De Janeiro and Brasilia in Brazil, he has never once been mugged or robbed.
He said that when the teenagers snatched his phone, he fell, but recovered immediately. When he started chasing them, they hit an obstacle on the road, lost balance, but regained control and sped away.
Arjun said, “I would advise those getting robbed not to resist, because you don’t know if the attackers are armed.” His sister Vandana Harish, who too stays in the US but is in Bengaluru now, said, “I am surprised that my brother who is super tough could be mugged.”