A man, who was walking along the Park Circus bridge No. 4 on Sunday morning, was robbed by three youths on a scooter when he took out money to donate alms to a beggar, police said.
Chandan Shaw, a resident of Metiabruz who runs an orchestra unit in Bihar, had come to meet his friend in Topsia when he was attacked and punched in his face to snatch the money from him around 8.30am in the crowded area.
“The victim did not have a wallet. He took out a bundle of cash and was about to donate a Rs 10 note to a beggar sitting along the roadside when
suddenly a man who was riding a pillion on a scooter pounced on him and snatched the bundle of currency notes from him,” said an officer in Lalbazar.
The man ran to the other side of the road and was trying to jump onto a scooter which already had two riders when Shaw chased him and tried to stop him.
“The accused punched the victim in his face and managed to flee with the money on the scooter,” said the officer.
According to the complaint, the robbers took Rs 6,000.
Shaw was taken to a hospital with a bleeding face from where he dialled 100 to alert the police.
It was suspected that the man who punched Shaw was wearing an iron knuckle or had a sharp weapon in his hand that left Shaw’s face scratched and bleeding profusely. Shaw’s T-shirt was torn during the scuffle.
Lalbazar passed on the complaint to the local Karaya police station and an investigation has been started.
The police said from witness accounts it was apparent that three men came riding a scooter, one of whom had snatched the money.
The CCTV cameras in the vicinity are being scanned for identification of the accused trio who fled towards EM Bypass.
“It was a red scooter. We are trying to identify the vehicle and the riders,” said an officer.
The stretch where the robbery happened remains busy with vehicles and pedestrians during the daytime.