DRDO regional director RK Satpathy stabbed by juvenile in Hyderabad

Hyderabad: A senior DRDO official suffered injuries after he was attacked with a razor blade by a juvenile pickpocket on Sunday who managed to escape even after being caught for stealing a cell phone in the crowded Charminar area.

Regional Director of a Koraput-based DRDO unit R K Satpathy, who suffered injuries below his chest after the teenager attacked him with a blade, was immediately rushed to a government hospital and his condition was stated to be out of danger, police said.

A group of 15 officials of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) had come to the city to attend a seminar.

Satpathy, along with his colleagues, went to the Charminar area for sight-seeing and shopping, Deputy Commissioner of Police (South Zone) Sarvashresth Tripathi said.

Taking advantage of the crowded area, a 16-year-old boy snatched a cell phone from the pocket of Satpathy's colleague Logaonkar.

His other colleagues and some locals immediately chased the teenager and caught him and handed over the boy to Satpathy, the DCP told PTI.

"After catching the teenager, who is a pickpocket and addicted to sniffing whitener, they alerted the police. Even as Satpathy was holding the boy he took out a shaving blade and attacked him and fled away," Tripathi explained.

"The DRDO official was immediately rushed to a government hospital and his condition was out of danger," the senior police official said.

The boy, whose identification has been established, was recently arrested in a chain-snatching case and for quarrelling with a local person, though he was out on bail, police said.

Hussaini Alam Police booked a case on charge of attempt to murder and other charges under the relevant sections of the IPC in connection with the incident and launched a hunt to nab the juvenile.

The Regional Director of Regional Centre for Military Airworthiness was on a visit here, said Ravi Kumar Gupta, Director, Directorate of Public Interface, DRDO.

The incident has nothing to do with "DRDO affairs," he said.

Satpathy was rushed to a hospital. "He is out of danger," Gupta added.