PUNE: In a daring heist on the Pune-Solarpur highway, a group of miscreants stopped a moving car on the highway, threw chili powder in the eyes of victim and ran away after looting Rs 5.96 lakh cash from him.
The incident occurred on Thursday, at around 7 p.m., when the man was driving home through the sprawling highway.
Three miscreants carried out the organised heist, and currently are on the run.
The incident took place near Sahajpur village (Daund tehsil) of Pune district.
The three unidentified miscreants intercepted a man, threw chili powder into his eyes and broke open the vehicle's storage compartment.
They captured staggering amount of cash, amounting to Rs 5,95,600 and flew from the spot.
The victim was identified as 24 year-old Pawan Ashok Patil, a resident of Haveli in Pune district. He was travelling home after collecting payments from four electrical shops.
During the journey, three unidentified individuals—riding a black motorcycle chased him, forcing him to stop.
One of the miscreants held him hostage while another assailant opened the car's storage compartment. The third perpetrator threw chili powder into his eyes.
The perpetrators forcibly broke open the storage compartment and seized a bag containing the cash.
After stealing Rs 5.96 lakh cash in broad daylight, the three robbers fled toward Pune.
A case has been registered at the Yavat Police Station under Sections 309(4), 126(2), and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Such incidents of robbery after hurting the car owner with red chili have raised red flags in multiple cities, including Delhi.
Recently, a Delhi Police arrested six individuals in the national capital, including the mastermind, and recovered Rs 30.23 lakh in cash from their possession.
The case pertained to alleged robbery of Rs 70 lakh from scooter rider, carried out by throwing chili powder into his eyes, near Gulabi Bagh underpass in North Delhi.