Good Samaritans assaulted for helping woman in distress, six arrested

Kalyan: Six people were arrested on Sunday for allegedly attacking two youngsters, who tried to stop an assault on a woman by her former boyfriend

Kalyan: Six people were arrested on Sunday for allegedly attacking two youngsters, who tried to stop an assault on a woman by her former boyfriend.

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According to the Khadakpada police, the complaint, identified as Yogesh Chaudhari, 20, and Utkarsh Singh, 21, were passing by when they saw a woman being beaten up by a man, identified as Pranav Konkar, 25, at around 7.30pm on Friday.

They tried to intervene and calm down Pranav. However, when he continued to abuse the woman, Chaudhari tried to dial the police helpline number 112. Noticing him dial the police, Pranav called up his friend named Darshan and asked him to come.

“Within two minutes, nine youths arrived on three bikes and started hitting us. Someone hit me from behind on my head and I blacked out. I tried to run towards my home, but they followed me, dragged me out of the house and assaulted me with a bat and a metal object,” Chaudhari said in his complaint.

While Utkarsh, who is completing his masters in computer science from Birla College, suffered injuries on his back and hands, Yogesh, who is appearing for HSC board exams, suffered a deep head wound and was hospitalised in Kalyan.

Shiva Pandey, Chaudhari’s uncle, said, “The police did not take our complaint immediately. Only after we tweeted to the Thane police and put out messages on social media that an FIR was registered on Saturday evening though the incident happened on Friday. Yogesh’s HSC exams are on and we are worried if he can appear for his Economics paper scheduled on Monday in this condition.”

Meanwhile, the woman, Deepali Sorte, 22, who works part-time with a travel agency in Kalyan, in her statement to the police said that she had met Pranav Khonkar during the Covid lockdown and had a brief relationship with him. But, due to his alcohol addiction and tendency to turn violent, she had broken up with him six months ago after he assaulted her.

On Friday, Pranav came near her office, and kicked, punched and touched her inappropriately. She cried for help when Yogesh and Utkarsh tried to intervene.

“We have registered a case of rioting under IPC section 324 against six people, including Khonkar, and arrested them,” Sarjerao Patil, senior inspector, said.