As situation does not improve, security guard attacked in Aundh plans to quit his job and return to Bihar | News from Pune

“I was sitting on a bench on the sidewalk with my back to the road when I heard a horn honking. I did not react and thought it was something normal. But suddenly they came towards me and started hitting me with iron rods,” said Mandal, who hails from Bihar.

The security guard was beaten with an iron bar the same morning the senior was attacked. (Photo: Express)

Mandal explained that half of the attackers were travelling in an auto-rickshaw and the other half were travelling on an Activa scooter, with some of them holding poles to attack people indiscriminately.

“They just hit me on the head with a rod and knocked me unconscious. I saw one of them coming towards me with a liquor bottle. In my semi-conscious state, I tried to run away and the bottle missed my head but hit my shoulder and broke it,” Mandal added. His neck and back still hurt, showing marks of injuries, and he is still taking medication.

Mantu Singh, another security guard who works at the mobile complex across the street, said Mandal called for help but no one responded. Mandal then ran to the parking lot of the Krishnai Apartments nearby to get help from another security guard. “The security guard, however, pushed him away out of fear,” Singh said.

Swaroop Singh, another security guard of an IT company from Bihar, who took Mandal to the nearby government hospital, expressed his frustration with the owner of the Mandal construction site and the facilities provided to him.

“There is no way for Mandal to rest or stay in one place. The owner of the premises did not even bother to call or come to check on the security guard. He has broken his thumb and shoulder, which has added to his financial burden,” he said.

Mandal said he would leave the place as soon as possible as he feared these thugs would come back to harass him. “They were monsters; they beat me mercilessly.”

Many liquor bottles are lying on the roadside, allegedly left by people who publicly consumed the liquor near Parihar Chowk. (Express photo by Arul Horizon)

Common complaints about drunk minors on sidewalks and parking lots:

The security guards complained that although three cameras were installed outside his building, none of them were working. “These cameras were only put into operation after the incidents. Police presence has been increased now, but seeing such miscreants on the streets is nothing new for the security guards,” they said.

Navnath Babanbhor, a security guard at Ganga Apartment Society, complained to the police that miscreants often carry liquor bottles at night and sit on the seats set up on the pavement for public use. The Indian Express found that many of these seats under trees were littered with liquor bottles and food wrappers.

Vikas Randhave, a supervisor from Perfect Security Agency, who rushed to the spot soon after Mandal’s call and notification, said security in the area was a major problem. “None of the cameras in this row are working and many security guards are not provided booths so they have to go out on the road at night. It is a common complaint in Aundh that inebriated people loiter at night and gather on the seats here to drink. When they are drunk, they create a ruckus,” he said.