Dog trainer stabbed by bike thief, injured

MUMBAI: A 34-year-old dog trainer was seriously injured after he stopped a bike thief from stealing his two-wheeler near Chitra Cinema on Dadasaheb Phalke Road in Dadar East on Wednesday evening.
The police said the trainer, Kunal Kudale, had gone to train a dog when he saw the accused trying to take away his scooter. When he questioned him, the thief told him that he was from the finance company that had financed the vehicle.
However, as the complainant had not taken any loan to purchase the vehicle, he grew suspicious. At this time, a police vehicle siren blared from the distance and the accused panicked. While trying to flee from the spot, he stabbed the complainant on his back, head and ears.
The Bhoiwada police have registered a case following a complaint lodged by Kudale, who lives in Prabhadevi, Dadar West.
The police said on Wednesday evening after a dog-training session, Kudale stopped near Chitra Cinema to have a sandwich. “While he was having a sandwich, a man started checking his parked two-wheeler and trying to start it with a duplicate key. My brother noticed this and immediately came near the scooter and questioned the man,” said Sachin Kudale, younger brother of the complainant.
“The man then told him he was a finance company recovery agent and since the vehicle was purchased on a loan and the easy monthly installments (EMI) were pending, he had come to seize the vehicle. However, my brother told him the vehicle was purchased by paying in cash and asked for his identity card. He then started avoiding him,” Sachin said.
In the meantime, a police jeep passed by a nearby road and his brother threatened the thief that he would hand him over to the police. “That’s when he took out a knife from his pocket and stabbed my brother on the left rib, the head and the ears, and fled from the spot.”
Sachin further said that his brother, who is married with two children, is presently out of danger. He is being treated at the KEM Hospital.
“After we came to know about the incident, our teams immediately traced the accused in Kurla area through CCTV footage and arrested him. He has been identified as Sonu Chandran alias Monu, 39, who hails from Karnataka but was staying in Kurla,” said Sachin Kadam, senior police inspector of Bhoiwada police station.
The police have registered a case in the matter under sections 307 (theft after preparation made for causing death, hurt or restraint in order to committing of theft) and 311 (robbery, or dacoity, with attempt to cause death or grievous hurt) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.