Bandra man assaulted in road rage incident for overtaking

According to the Mumbai police, the key accused was enraged because the victim who was driving a BMW, did not give him space to overtake.

MUMBAI: A 23-year-old man from Bandra sustained serious injuries, including facial fractures, after allegedly being assaulted by a scooterist and his associate in a road rage incident on Friday evening.

A 23-year-old man from Bandra, Mumbai was severely injured in a road rage incident after a scooterist, upset over being unable to overtake, assaulted him.

According to the police, the key accused, who is yet to be identified, was enraged because the victim, Malon Cajetan Gonsalves, who was driving a BMW, did not give him space to overtake. The accused then allegedly brutally assaulted Gonsalves, repeatedly punching him in the face and fracturing his nasal bone. Gonsalves is currently admitted to Holy Family Multispeciality Hospital in Bandra.

The incident took place on General Arunkumar Vaidya Marg in Bandra West around 6 pm on Friday. Gonsalves was returning home to Rajaram Wadi after dropping his father at his Bandra Reclamation office when the accused allegedly started honking at him from behind.

“I was driving slowly, and a scooterist who was behind me was continuously honking. However, there was no space to let him pass. When there was space, I allowed him to pass and gestured for him to go ahead,” said Gonsalves.

However, after overtaking, the scooterist allegedly stopped, got off his vehicle, returned to Gonsalves’s SUV and started kicking it. “When I questioned him about his acts, he got aggressive. When I took pictures of him and his two-wheeler, his friend joined in and started assaulting me continuously on my face, completely taking me by surprise,” said Gonsalves.

He added that no passersby came to his aid despite the area being crowded , but he managed to call his father before losing consciousness from blood loss.

Approximately 15 to 20 minutes later, he was admitted to Holy Family Hospital, where he is being treated for multiple injuries, including a fractured nasal bone and a ruptured eardrum. He is currently stable and recovering.

The police have registered an FIR at the Bandra police station based on Gonsalves’s complaint against the unidentified persons. The accused have been booked under sections 115 (voluntarily causing hurt), 117 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt), 324 (mischief) and 352 (intentional insult aimed at provoking a breach of peace) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.