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Three arrested for murderous assault on auto driver
The incident came to light after a video of the assault went viral on social media, prompting swift police action
Three men were arrested for allegedly assaulting an autorickshaw driver and throwing him off a bridge near Dattanagar underpass in Ambegaon after a dispute over picking up passengers, police said on Monday.
The incident came to light after a video of the assault went viral on social media, prompting swift police action. The accused were identified as Bapuso Balasaheb Bhosale, Ganesh Haribhau Dharpale and Ganesh alias Bhavadya Haribhau Dharpale. They were arrested by the Ambegaon police within hours of the video surfacing online.
According to police, the incident took place when an argument broke out among autorickshaw drivers over ferrying passengers. The dispute allegedly escalated after the accused intercepted driver Suraj Manik Kale and assaulted him on the roadside.
Police said the accused allegedly punched and kicked Kale and attacked him with sharp objects before throwing him off a bridge near the Rajmata underpass. The injured driver was rushed to Bharati Vidyapeeth Hospital, where he is undergoing treatment. Officials said his condition is stable.
The viral video of the incident triggered outrage among residents, with locals saying clashes among autorickshaw drivers over passengers are frequent in the Navale bridge area. Police have registered a case and further investigation is underway.
The 30-year-old auto-rickshaw driver was brutally attacked in broad daylight near Katraj Navale Bridge in Pune’s Ambegaon-Dattanagar area on Sunday morning, with the shocking incident, which occurred around 10.15 am, being captured on video and later going viral on social media. The injured has been identified as Suraj Manik Kale. According to preliminary police investigations, the attack stemmed from an ongoing rivalry and disputes over picking up passengers, coupled with enmity between the accused and the victim that had reportedly persisted for the past three years.
Eyewitnesses said the assailants assaulted Kale mercilessly in a public area, triggering panic among commuters and locals.
