Noida: SUV driver booked for pointing handgun on sanitation worker

A purported video of the incident also surfaced on social media, showing a man in a red t-shirt slapping a sanitation worker and pulling his hair while verbally abusing him

Noida: A Toyota Fortuner driver was booked for allegedly assaulting, verbally abusing, threatening and pointing a handgun at a 35-year-old sanitation worker during a road rage related dispute in Hoshiyarpur area of Noida Sector 51 on Saturday afternoon, police said on Sunday, adding that efforts are on to identify and nab him.

Initial probe revealed that the sanitation worker was working in the area after parking his garbage collection van on road. As the SUV driver was reversing his vehicle, a fight broke out between them over giving way to the Fortuner. (Video grab/HT Photo)

Initial probe revealed that sanitation worker, Sanjeev Kumar, a resident of Morna, Sector 24, was working in the area after parking his garbage collection van on road. As the SUV driver was reversing his vehicle, a fight broke out between them over giving way to the Fortuner, said ACP (Noida) Twinkle Jain adding that two teams are formed to nab the suspect, who is on the run.

In his police complaint, Kumar said: “On Saturday afternoon, when I was doing my routine work at Street Number 4 in Hoshiyarpur, a white car stopped and the car occupant passed casteist remarks at me.”

“He (the suspect) pulled out his gun and hit the back side of the gun on my chest. Later, he pointed the pistol at my head while passing casteist remarks and threatening me with dire consequences,” reads the FIR registered at Sector 49 police station over the complaint.

Kumar stated people standing close to him filmed the incident and he now fears for his life.

A purported video of the incident also surfaced on social media, showing a man in a red t-shirt slapping a sanitation worker and pulling his hair while verbally abusing him. He then threatens the worker with dire consequences while flashing a handgun. People in the background could be heard pacifying the incident.

HT, however, could not independently verify its authenticity.

“On the complaint of the victim, a case under sections 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt), 351(3) (criminal intimidation), and 352 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) of the BNS, and the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act was registered against the unidentified SUV driver. Teams have been formed to nab him,” said ACP Jain.