Vadodara, Feb 22 (IANS) A man was attacked by two people in the Makarpura GIDC area of Gujarat’s Vadodara, allegedly in a robbery bid.
The victim, Pradeep Munshi, a manager in a private company, was ambushed by an auto-rickshaw driver and his accomplice, who assaulted him with wooden sticks.
The assailants fled the scene, but police responded, arresting both accused and seizing their auto-rickshaw, officials said.
According to reports, Munshi was in the area when two unidentified men arrived in an auto-rickshaw. The incident took place on February 21.
Without provocation, they began attacking him, striking him repeatedly with sticks. The ordeal lasted nearly half an hour, during which Munshi screamed for help, but no bystanders intervened. Eventually, the attackers fled, leaving him injured on the street. Munshi sustained severe injuries and was rushed to the hospital, where he is currently receiving treatment.
Following his complaint, Manjalpur police launched an investigation and arrested the accused Rafiq and Arif.
Authorities have also seized their auto-rickshaw and are probing whether the duo has a history of similar crimes.
In Gujarat, theft and burglary cases have been a persistent concern over the past five years. Between 2018 and 2023, the state recorded a total of 97,950 incidents of theft and burglary.
Alarmingly, only 46,636 of these cases were solved, indicating a detection rate of approximately 50 per cent. This translates to an average of 38 thefts and nine burglaries reported daily during this period.
The COVID-19 pandemic years of 2020 and 2021 saw a slight dip in these crimes, with around 10,000 incidents reported each year, likely due to increased home occupancy during lockdowns. However, the numbers surged again post-pandemic, with 16,529 theft cases reported up to September 2023, of which only about half were resolved.
Temples in Gujarat have also been targeted, with 501 reported thefts over the past three years, resulting in losses totalling Rs 4.93 crore. The breakdown includes 151 incidents in 2020-21, 178 in 2021-22, and 172 in 2022-23.
Despite these challenges, certain areas have shown improvement.
Vadodara City, for instance, achieved an 87 per cent detection rate in chain-snatching cases in 2024, the highest in the state. The city’s Detection of Crime Branch registered 296 offences in 2024, marking a 50 per cent increase from the previous year.
–IANS
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