Bike-borne assailants loot Rs 20L from petrol pump employee

Unidentified suspects looted R20.57 lakh in cash from a petrol pump employee after throwing chilli powder in his eyes and assaulting him with sharp weapons at Kelawade phata near Khed Shivapur on the Pune-Satara highway last morning.

Police have identified the employee as Maula Shaikh (28), a resident of Kelawade village in Bhor. Shaikh works at a petrol pump operated by Bharat Petroleum near Kelawade phata and his job includes depositing the money collected at the pump in a bank.

Yesterday, Shaikh had taken the Rs 20.57 lakh collected at the pump over the weekend and was on his way to collect cash from another pump at Khed Shivapur — before heading to a State Bank of India branch — when he was waylaid. “Some bike-borne people accosted him, threw chilly powder into his eyes and assaulted him with sharp weapons. The suspects then took the bag containing cash and fled in the direction of Pune city,” said Police Inspector Shivaji Devkar of the rural police crime branch.

“A case has been registered against unidentified suspects at the Rajgad police station and we have also alerted the Pune city and Satara police. We are conducting a checking of two-wheelers on the highways and are also analysing
CCTV footage from the spot,” Devkar added.