Mysore Road Satellite bus stand

thieves

As my son was sleepy, I handed over my purse to my daughter who was holding it while I carried my son... the thief snatched the purse from her and brandished a knife – Tarnum, the victim

bus stand

A group of auto-drivers, who work the night shift near the, saved the day for a 38-year-old woman. The victim’s purse was snatched by an armed duo, who sped away on their scooter in the wee hours of Wednesday, after committing the crime. Two auto-drivers, who witnessed the incident, chased the bike-borne, managed to nab them and handed them over to the police.It was around 4 am and as a soft drizzle fell, a family of four got down from the KSRTC Rajahamsa bus coming from Mysuru. Heena Tarnum, her husband Faijan Khan and their two children - four-year-old son and seven-year-old daughter had gone to Mysuru to attend a family function on Saturday. Tarnum works as an office-bearer with an NGO that fights corruption and the family resides at Bommanahalli, the police said.Residents of Bapujinagar, auto-drivers Abhishek (22) and Mallikarjuna alias Manu (24) were among a group of night-shift auto-drivers, waiting for passengers. While the auto-drivers flocked near the bus door, Tarnum and her children got down and stood near the auto-stand while her husband went to the bus stand to pick his bike from the parking lot. While Tarnum and the children were waiting, two men who had parked their blue Suzuki Access scooter nearby, were lurking around. “As my son was sleepy, I handed over my purse to my daughter who was holding it while I carried my son,” Tarnum told BM.Seeing the purse in the child’s hand, one of the men who was wearing a black jacket and a cap came close to Tarnum’s daughter, snatched the purse, brandished a knife and signalled his associate to start the bike. In a matter of seconds, the two sped away. Tarnum shouted for help when Abhishek and Manu who had witnessed the incident came to her and asked what had been stolen. Tarnum told them that she was robbed of a purse that contained a mobile phone, cash, cards and some documents. Abhishek and Manu took their auto and chased the scooter.The accused had gone about one kilometre away from the, when their bike skid, thanks to the rain, and they fell down.Meanwhile, Tarnum walked towards the Imperial Hotel near the bus stand where a Hoysala patrol vehicle was parked and complained about the incident. The police soon proceeded in the direction that the duo had sped away and caught up with them.The police mistook it for an accident as an auto-rickshaw was parked across their fallen scooter and the riders looked injured.But Abhishek and Manu quickly apprised the police of what had happened. The police also found weapons hidden in the trousers pockets of one of the robbers. The muggers were later identified by the police as Tanvir and Salim, both in their thirties.Based on a complaint by Tarnum, the Byatarayanapura police registered a case of robbery and returned the purse to its owner.Tarnum and her family thanked the auto-drivers for their timely help.