A rice exporter was allegedly assaulted by unidentified armed assailants near ITC Maurya Hotel in the heart of the city on Wednesday night. The assailants snatched his Toyota Fortuner car and escaped from the high-security area.
Police sources said the victim, identified as Ram Chander Yadav, 41, a resident of Sainik Farms in south Delhi, was in his car on Manas Marg in Chanakyapuri area of New Delhi district when two unidentified, armed assailants surfaced at around 12.30 am on Thursday and asked him to vacate the vehicle.
“When the victim tried to resist, the two assailants dragged him out and started assaulting him. The assailants then got into the vehicle and escaped from the high-security area while the victim kept screaming for help desperately,” a senior police official said.
The robbed exporter then informed the police following which a team of policemen took him to the Chanakyapuri police station where his statement was recorded.
The victim has told the police that he was waiting to pick up one of his friends when the two assailants surprised him and snatched the keys of his car before he could react.
The area, where the incident took place, is secured by a large posse of Delhi police personnel and central security forces as it houses diplomatic missions of foreign countries, offices of senior government functionaries and other critical installations.
At least three incident of unidentified assailants targeting foreigners in the area have been reported in the recent past but no arrests have been made so far.
“We have registered a case under Section 394 of IPC and a special team of cops is investigating the matter to recover the vehicle and identify the assailants. No arrests have been made so far,” the police official said.