With no improvement in situation, watchman attacked in Aundh wants to give up his job, return to Bihar

“I was sitting on a seat along the sidewalk with my back to the road when I heard some hooting. I didn’t react, thinking it was some routine thing happening. However, they suddenly closed upon me and hit me with iron rods,” said Mandal who hails from Bihar.

Guard was hit with iron rod the same morning the senior citizen was attacked. (Express Photo)

Mandal explained that half of the attackers were in an autorickshaw and the other half on an Activa scooter, with a few of them holding rods to attack random people.

“They just attacked me with a rod on my head, knocking me unconscious. I saw one of them coming at me with a liquor bottle. In my semi-conscious state, I tried to move away, and the bottle missed my head but hit my shoulder, fracturing it,” Mandal added. His neck and back are still sore, reveal marks of injury and he is still on medication.

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

Swaroop Singh, another IT company guard from Bihar who rushed Mandal to a nearby government hospital, expressed his frustration with Mandal’s construction site owner and the facilities given to him.

“There is no facility for Mandal to rest or stay in one place. The site owner didn’t even bother to call or visit to check on the guard. He has fractured his thumb and shoulder, adding to his financial burden,” he said.

Mandal said he would leave this place as soon as possible as he believes those goons will return to harass him. “They were monsters; they beat me without showing mercy.”

Many liquor bottles lying on roadsides allegedly left by people after consume it publicly near Parihar chowk. (Express Photograph by Arul Horizon)

Frequent Complaints of Drunk Minors on Sidewalks, Parking Lots:

The security guards complained that although there are three cameras installed in front of his building, none of them work. “Those cameras started operating only after the incidents. Police presence has increased now, but seeing such miscreants on the road is nothing new for 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 seating arrangements made on the sidewalk for the general public. The Indian Express found that many of these seating arrangements under trees were littered with alcohol bottles and food wrappers.

Vikas Randhave, a supervisor of Perfect Security Agency who rushed to the spot soon after Mandal called and informed him, said safety in this area is a major concern. “None of the cameras in that row are working, and many guards are not provided cabins, forcing them to come out on the road at night. It’s a common complaint in Aundh that people under the influence of alcohol loiter at night, gathering to drink on the seats here. After getting drunk, they create a ruckus,” he said.