Daijiworld Media Network – Pune

Pune, Sep 14: A 33-year-old IT professional from Mhalunge was injured in a targeted assault outside an IT company in Viman Nagar on Thursday night, police said. The attack, however, was a case of mistaken identity.

According to the FIR lodged at Yerwada police station, the victim had gone to Amar Tech Centre around 1.45 am to pick up his fiancée. Three men on a motorcycle, acting on instructions from a cab driver who suspected a love affair involving another IT professional, attacked him with sharp weapons, leaving him unconscious. A CCTV video of the incident later went viral.

Police arrested two suspects, 19-year-olds Balaji Munde and Siddhartha Daliya from Hadapsar, within hours of the attack. Munde has a previous criminal record. Investigations revealed that the assailants had laid a trap for another employee who did not arrive, leading to the mistaken attack.

Assistant Police Inspector Ravikant Nandanvar said the two accused are in police custody until September 15, while the search for the cab driver who orchestrated the assault is ongoing. The victim was rushed to a hospital by his fiancée and bystanders.