PUNE: A verbal duel, resulting from a car driver applying sudden brakes to avoid a stray dog getting hit near Kalewadi bridge in Pimpri, led a 10-member group of men to assault him and damage the windscreen of his car around 11.15pm on Thursday.
Wakad resident Nitin Shravan Patil (46) had to apply sudden brakes on spotting a stray coming in front of his four-wheeler, forcing the group right behind his car in five to six motorcycles to halt suddenly. A verbal exchange ensued and soon took a violent turn, as the group members abused, slapped, and punched him before damaging the front and the rear windscreens of the car using rods and stones.
On Friday morning, Patil lodged a complaint with the Pimpri police for offences under sections 143 (unlawful assembly), 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting, armed with deadly weapon), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 504 (intentionally insults) and 427 (mischief) of the Indian Penal Code.
The police cited the complaint and said, Patil was returning home from his brother’s house in Pimpri in his car. As he approached the Kalewadi bridge, a stray dog crossing the road came in front of his vehicle, prompting Patil to immediately slam brakes. The group of bikers behind him also had to apply brakes. Some of them questioned Patil if he knew how to drive a car and this led to an altercation, the police said. Before Patil could say anything, two men grabbed him and three others slapped and punched him, the police added. “The other men then damaged the front and rear windscreens of Patil’s car with stones and rods,” police said.
A senior police officer told TOI, “The exact spot where the incident occurred does not have CCTV surveillance. We are scanning CCTV footages of other establishments in the vicinity to identify the assailants.”
