A 38-year-old techie reportedly lost her life after being run over by a man driving a speeding car in a residential complex parking area in Madhya Pradesh's Indore due to a dispute between the accused’s family and other residents over renting a penthouse on the online platform Airbnb.
The victim was identified as Shampa Pathak Pandey, a software engineer at Infosys. The incident took place on Wednesday night following a dispute between residents of the complex and the family of a penthouse owner over renting the property through Airbnb, an earlier HT report quoted police as saying.
“The victim succumbed to injuries at Bombay hospital,” police said.
A video of the incident surfaced on social media on Thursday, purportedly showing the accused, Mohit Chaudhary, hitting a domestic helper and the techie with his car.
Police officials said that Mohit Chaudhary and his father, Kuldeep Chaudhary, have been arrested.
What was the dispute?
Lasudiya town inspector Tarnesh Soni said, “The incident occurred around 10.30 pm at Shiv Vatika Township on MR-11. Kuldeep Chaudhary had rented out his penthouse through Airbnb. Residents had objected to frequent and late-night arrivals of guests.”
“The situation escalated after residents allegedly switched off electricity to the penthouse, following which Kuldeep Chaudhary cut power to other flats, triggering a confrontation. He called his son, who arrived in a car and hit some people. He first hit a domestic helper and then rammed into Shampa Pandey,” the officer added.
{{/usCountry}}“The situation escalated after residents allegedly switched off electricity to the penthouse, following which Kuldeep Chaudhary cut power to other flats, triggering a confrontation. He called his son, who arrived in a car and hit some people. He first hit a domestic helper and then rammed into Shampa Pandey,” the officer added.
{{/usCountry}}Pandey’s husband, Saurabh Pandey, said the family had recently moved into the building and had gone to the parking area after hearing a commotion. “Amid the chaos, the accused drove into my wife and a domestic helper. He also tried to hit me, but I managed to escape. Later, he rammed the car into a wall,” he alleged.
Residents claimed the penthouse was not part of the original building plan and had complained earlier to the builder about alleged irregularities and disturbances linked to its use, but no action was taken.
The inspector said, “CCTV footage of the incident has been seized, and a case has been registered against the accused under relevant sections. Further investigation is underway.”