Duo assault woman after robbery bid

Pune: After a failed attempt to rob a 25-year-old man at gunpoint in Nere village on Kasarsai Road near Hinjewadi on Wednesday evening, two unidentified men attacked his wife with a sharp weapon and fled.
The woman, Bhagyashri Santosh Koyate of Punawale, sustained stab wounds on her cheek, throat and chest. "She is being treated in a private hospital and is out of danger," Hemant Patil, assistant inspector of the Hinjewadi police station, said.
Bhagyashri's husband Santosh, a farmer, lodged a complaint against the duo with the Hinjewadi police who have booked them under sections 398 (attempt to commit robbery or dacoity armed with a weapon) and 394 (voluntarily causing hurt in committing robbery) of the Indian Penal Code.
Around 5pm on Wednesday, Koyate and his wife were driving towards a temple in Mulshi in their car. Koyate's mother and the couple's one-year-old son were also in the car. "When they reached Nere village on Kasarsai sugar factory road, an unidentified man blocked their way and demanded Koyate's licence. When he showed it to him, the suspect took out a firearm and threatened Koyate and demanded money," Patil said.
When Koyate refused, another suspect came forward and attacked his wife. "She was stabbed about four times. The suspects fled on a red motorcycle towards the sugar factory," Patil said. A search has been launched for the duo, he added.