Yet another auto drivers’ spat at airport leaves one with fractured finger

An auto driver at Mumbai's airport alleged that he was assaulted by another driver, resulting in a broken finger and smashed phone. The accused has been booked by police.

MUMBAI: In yet another instance of violence amongst auto drivers at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport (CSMIA), one of the drivers alleged that his finger was fractured and his mobile phone broken during a fight on Wednesday night. Sahar police have booked the other driver for the alleged assault.

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According to the complainant, Raju Nadar, 39, the incident took place around 9.30 pm on Wednesday at the sharing rickshaw stand in the parking of CSMIA. An argument over taking passengers out of turn allegedly took a violent turn when the other driver, Parshuram Pujari, started throwing punches at the complainant.

“At that point, I had been waiting for half an hour for my turn. Soon, two passengers got into my auto. I would have left after taking one more. However, Pujari started arguing with me, asking me to leave so that his turn would come,” Nadar told the police adding that the accused got so violent that he kept punching even when Nadar fell inside his auto rickshaw.

“I sustained injuries near my left eye and my left hand. My phone also fell from my hand and its screen got smashed. My license and rickshaw driving badge are also missing since then,” Nadar said in his statement to the Sahar police.

After other drivers intervened to calm things down, everybody went about their way. After dropping off the passengers on board, Nadar said he went to Cooper Hospital where doctors told him he had fractured a finger in his left hand.

“Based on the complainant’s version of events, we have booked Pujari for voluntarily causing hurt to another person, causing damage of property and breach of public peace,” said an officer from Sahar police. He also said that the CCTV footage from the parking area is being analysed to establish the exact sequence of events.

Lately, several videos showing the taxi and auto drivers at the parking of airport assaulting each other have been floating around the social media. In one such viral video two weeks ago, one driver allegedly said something inappropriate to a female cabbie, after which her colleagues started thrashing him.