5 barge into New Palam Vihar house after road rage incident in Gurugram

The suspects ransacked household items before leaving, threatening to set the family’s coal storage warehouse on fire

At least five suspects, including an Indian Railway gateman, have been booked for allegedly assaulting a woman and her brother-in-law, leaving them grievously injured after barging into their home in New Palam Vihar to seek revenge for a road rage incident, police said on Monday. The altercation stemmed from encroachment by roadside vendors that caused traffic congestion near the Chauma railway crossing.

The accused outside the property as seen in the CCTV footage from the area. (HT Photo)

According to police, the incident occurred around 8.40 pm on August 24 when 54-year-old Bacchu Singh was returning home in his car. As he approached the Chauma railway crossing, located about 150 meters from his house, Singh confronted roadside vegetable vendors encroaching on railway land, accusing them of causing severe daily traffic jams.

Investigators reported that a heated argument broke out between Singh and the vendors, prompting an Indian Railway gateman stationed at the crossing to intervene on behalf of the vendors. The dispute escalated, but locals stepped in, allowing Singh to return home. Shortly after, the gateman, accompanied by four other suspects, allegedly jumped the peripheral wall of Singh’s residence and assaulted his 23-year-old daughter-in-law, Sapna Singh, and his younger son, 25-year-old Dilip Singh, with iron rods and wooden bats, police added.

Dilip Singh, one of the victims, said that he suffered a fractured nose and left arm from the attack. “Doctors will operate to fix my nose injury after a few days,” he said. Singh recounted the harrowing incident and said: “My father, mother, elder brother, his two minor children, including his two-year-old daughter, were also inside the house at the time. They first targeted my sister-in-law, who was in the kitchen. Hearing her screams, I ran downstairs, and they assaulted me too.”

Singh alleged that the prime suspect was the railway gateman of the crossing who collected money from the vendors by allowing them to encroach railway property to run their daily business which ended up causing traffic jams at the spot.

“He had got miffed as the roadside vendors, whom my father had asked to sell vegetables somewhere else, had directly hurt his interests. The suspect had submitted a counter-complaint against us with false allegations after the incident that we had assaulted them,” he said.

Investigators said Singh’s father and brother later rushed them to a nearby private hospital for treatment and alerted the police control room about the incident. They said doctors would operate Singh’s nose after a few days to fix the fracture.

Inspector Ashok Kumar, station house officer of Bajghera police station, said that the family provided CCTV footage of the incident to them on Sunday.

The suspects ransacked household items before leaving, threatening to set the family’s coal storage warehouse on fire. Singh alleged that the prime suspect, the railway gateman, was enraged because the roadside vendors, whose encroachment he allegedly profited from, had been told by Singh’s father to relocate their carts. “The gateman collects money from the vendors by allowing them to encroach on railway property. He filed a counter-complaint with false allegations against us after the incident,” Singh added.

Following the attack, Singh’s father and brother rushed the injured to a nearby private hospital and alerted the police control room. Doctors are expected to operate on Singh’s fractured nose in the coming days, said police.

Station house officer (Bajghera) Inspector Ashok Kumar said the family provided CCTV footage of the incident, which clearly showed the suspects, including the gateman. “The suspects are clearly visible in the footage, and they will be arrested soon,” Kumar added. He confirmed that the assault followed an altercation between Singh’s father and the vendors, which enraged the gateman.