Fitness trainer assaulted, his SUV damaged in Bandra road rage incident

The Bandra police registered a case against three unidentified individuals for allegedly voluntarily causing hurt and criminal intimidation

MUMBAI: A fitness trainer Arjunjit Garewal, 39, was allegedly assaulted by three unidentified individuals in a road-rage incident in Bandra West late on Saturday. One of the accused allegedly also attempted to assault him with a steel baseball bat, while another allegedly damaged the windows of his Thar SUV with a hockey stick while his wife was still seated inside the vehicle.

The incident occurred around midnight on Saturday near the Bandra Talao.

Based on Garewal’s complaint, the Bandra police registered a case against three unidentified individuals for allegedly voluntarily causing hurt and criminal intimidation.

The incident occurred around midnight on Saturday near the Bandra Talao. Garewal, who is well-known in the fitness industry, was travelling towards Mahim with his wife, Bhakti. While they were on SV Road near Sahil Hotel in Bandra, Garewal overtook a Mahindra XUV.

This allegedly angered the driver of the XUV, who drove parallel to Garewal’s car, abused him and made threatening gestures. Six to seven people were travelling in the XUV, according to the complaint. Garewal said he ignored them and continued driving.

The XUV driver then allegedly overtook Garewal’s car three to four times and attempted to confront him. Garewal continued to ignore the driver. Subsequently, near Bandra Talao, the XUV overtook Garewal’s car and stopped in front of it.

“As I began to retaliate, I saw two men arriving on two-wheelers. They also joined the assault and began abusing and beating me,” said the fitness trainer, who was returning to his home in Mahim from Juhu, where his parents live. “One of them attempted to hit me with a baseball bat, but I managed to defend myself by blocking the attack with my kada (steel bangle). But my wife suffered injuries due to broken glass. She is still in trauma,” he said.

After this, another man allegedly took out a hockey stick and damaged the windows of Garewal’s car. The incident frightened Garewal’s wife, who then got out of the vehicle. The accused subsequently fled the spot in the XUV.

Garewal managed to note down the registration number of the XUV. He later approached the Bandra police, lodged a complaint and submitted his dashcam footage. Following his complaint, the police registered a case against three unidentified individuals under sections 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt) and 351(2) (criminal intimidation), along with other relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), on Sunday.