While Abhijeet was talking to his brother in Malayalam, a group of locals attacked him with beer bottles and fled when his brother approached; Abhijeet had a life-threatening injury on his neck and Kadugodi police are now on the lookout for his attackers

Drunk locals bash him with beer bottles, steal his wallet and mobile and escape; victim has undergone surgeryHate crime or hooliganism? That’s what 26-year-old software engineer Abhijeet has been trying to figure out ever since he was attacked with beer bottles by a gang of locals near his brother’s house on Doddabannahalli Road.On January 26, the techie from Kerala had decided to go over to his brother Abilash’s new house at the Chandragiri BDA apartments. It was almost 10.45 pm and when Abhijeet was near Sumadhura Company on Doddabannahalli Road, he figured he would not be able to find the house on his own.He got down from his bike and decided to call his brother. Abilash said he would come and meet him. A group of local residents, walking by, heard Abhijeet talking on the phone in Malayalam. It is not clear what quite happened, but they ended up attacking him. The locals are said to have been drunk. They hit Abhijeet with two beer bottles on his head and neck and left him with life-threatening injuries on his neck. His wallet and his mobile phone were taken off him.“While my brother was being attacked, he was talking to me and I could hear the commotion. He was at a distance of 500 metres from my house and I started running towards him. I could see from that distance that he was being beaten. By the time I reached, the gang started running. I then took him to a private hospital nearby on his bike and the patrolling police happened to come near us within two minutes. I explained to them about the robbery,” the victim’s brother Abilash told Mirror.The patrolling police then looked for the accused and could not find them. The local Kadugodi police were informed about the incident, who recorded the brothers’ statements at the hospital. Kadugodi police registered the case and are investigating further into the case.Abhijeet had to undergo a surgery and is recovering now. Kadugodi police found out that Abhijeet was indeed attacked by locals who acted under the influence of alcohol and a few of them are employed in various private firms in Bengaluru. “Through local intelligence and CCTV footage, we found out that the accused are not any professional robbers and were locals. They were under the influence of alcohol and could have attacked the victim after knowing that he was an outsider and they will have an easy escape. All of them have escaped and have switched their mobile phones off. One team has been assigned to trace the accused who will be arrested shortly,” said an investigating officer.“A month ago, I had shifted to the new house and my brother was coming to see my new house. I had shared the location with him, but he was unable to find the house. As it was dark and there were no lights, I asked him to wait for me at the corner. He has been advised complete bed rest for two weeks. The police have not updated us about the progress in the case,” Abilash said.Abhijeet had moved to Bengaluru around three years ago while his brother Abilash has lived in the city for at least 10 years now. Both brothers are software professionals.