Biker offers lift to 70-year-old woman in Chandrapur, flees with her jewellery and cash

A 70-year-old woman in Nagbhid tehsil of Chandrapur district paid heavily for trusting a stranger on a motorcycle. The man made her sit on his bike on the pretext of giving her a lift and fled with her gold ornaments and cash, goods worth Rs 43,000 in all. The incident took place on Monday on an unpaved forest track near Gowarpeth village. Nagbhid police have registered a case, and the search for the accused continues.

Anjana Govinda Bobate, 70, a resident of Ekara Bunj in Brahmapuri tehsil, had come to her grandson's home in Bamhani village in Nagbhid tehsil for Diwali. On Sunday, Amol Dongarwar of Ekara Bunj contacted her grandson on his mobile phone and told him that the ration had arrived. For this reason, Bobate went to Ekara Bunj on Monday morning to collect it.

After collecting the ration, at around 11 am she was waiting at a bus stop to go to Nagbhid. A stranger on a motorcycle came up to her and said he too was going to Nagbhid. He offered her a lift and she sat on his bike.

On the way, the biker took the Rajoli-Bond route via Mendki-Balapur. On the unpaved forest track near Gowarpeth village, he suddenly stopped the bike. He told the elderly woman that robbers roamed the area. He then said the gold jewellery around her neck would not be safe and advised her to keep it in a sack of wheat. Trusting his words, the woman began taking off her jewellery.

As she was putting the jewellery away, the accused deftly took her bag from her. He said he would put the jewellery properly in the wheat sack, and in this way won her confidence. He then made an excuse of going to relieve himself and left the spot on his motorcycle. When he had not returned after a long time, Bobate became suspicious. When she checked the bag and the wheat sack, the gold jewellery and cash were missing. On realising she had been cheated, she was left in shock.

A complaint was lodged at Nagbhid police station after the incident, and police have registered a case against the unknown accused. Nagbhid police are conducting further investigation. In view of the incident, people are being urged not to trust strangers easily while travelling and to be careful about the safety of gold jewellery and valuables.