Hyderabad: Weekend birding has turned sour for two persons from Hyderabad, after they were relieved of their expensive cameras, money and a mobile phone at knife point on Saturday last near Air Force Station in Chidri area of Bidar in Karnataka.
The father-son duo of photographers were forced to part with their camera equipment, money and phones by two assailants. They had also collected their car key from the possession, but fortunately, the duo had a second key using which they reached Hyderabad after filing a complaint with Karnataka police.
The victims, Subhash Shrivasta and his younger son Vineet Shirvastava, are residents of Ameepet and had gone birding on Saturday towards Bidar.
Hyderabad Newsclick here for more Hyderabad News“It was around 5.40 pm, we were clicking harriers. Two youth came on a two-wheeler and stopped near our car. The guy driving the vehicle threatened to give him cash. I gave him all I had. Soon they brandished a knife that is about nine inch and sharp on the both sides. The pillion rider went near my car and bent into it. That is when he picked my son’s camera (Nikon Coolpix p950) and my camera (Nikon Coolpix P900) and mobile (Realme X7 Max 5G),” said Shrivastava.
“They took the car key with them and said they would drop it about 500 m away. They went and stopped their vehicle ahead. I was hoping that they would drop the key and I wanted to go in their direction. My son said he had the second key and asked me not to go any further,” he said.
Soon, they found their way back to the highway and informed this about the incident to a police partrol party. The officer visited the location and directed to approach the police station under whose jurisdiction the place was. A written complaint was lodged.
Vineet, who is class X, had posted their ordeal on social media asking fellow birders to be wary of the risks involved.
There have been instances of birders getting robbed and such incident have been reported in the past in Bengaluru, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, according to Sriram Reddy, a wildlife and bird photographer. Many members of the birding fraternity expressed shock over the incident but were relieved that no the two have not suffered a bodily injury in the incident. They stressed on the need to move in groups, particularly if they visiting a far flung place.
“Having some safety tools like a pepper spray and a pen knife will come handy in emergencies. One should always use good gumboots for navigating the slushy or slippery surfaces,” Sriram Reddy.
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