Rickshaw driver assaulted, thrown into Dahisar River by drug peddlers

A 55-year-old autorickshaw driver in Mumbai was stabbed and thrown into a river after a brawl over drugs supplied to his son. One suspect has been arrested.

MUMBAI: A 55-year-old autorickshaw driver was chased by three men from his neighbourhood in Dahisar following a brawl over supplying drugs to the driver’s son. He was stabbed in the chest and thrown into the Dahisar River on Wednesday.

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The victim claimed his son had overused drugs which were provided by the accused and a fight broke out between them after he confronted them.

According to the Kasturba Marg police, the incident took place at the Sudhir Phadke bridge in Dahisar at 12pm and for over an hour the injured victim, identified as Baban Survase, was left in the river until the fire brigade was summoned by some passersby and he was rescued and rushed to the hospital where his condition is reported to be stable.

Police officers said that at 11am on Wednesday Survase left his house in Daulat Nagar in Borivali East towards Borivali West, taking his auto for RTO passing, when the accused, identified as Rakesh Kasbe, Dinesh Kasbe and one of their accomplices stopped him near the Sudhir Phadke bridge.

Kamble told the police that since her brother had died due to an overdose of drugs, her father had been blaming Rakesh for his death, “Rakesh is an alleged drug peddler and supplied drugs to my brother Rajesh due to which my father often picked up a fight with him, blaming him for Rajesh’s death,” said Kamble, who stays with her husband and children at Survase’s house.

The passersby informed the police after Rakesh and his accomplices intercepted Survase, abused him and then assaulted him. As Survase tried to flee, Rakesh removed a knife and chased him over a distance of more than 500 meters before the trio caught up with him and bashed him up with sticks and rods. Rakesh then took his knife out of his pocket and stabbed him in the chest.

“The men then picked up Survase and threw him in the water before fleeing,” said API Om Totawar, from Kasturba Marg police station. Totawar said that after Kamble registered a complaint against Rakesh and accomplice for attempting to kill her father, they arrested Dinesh Kasbe from Dahisar. The two others are still at large.