Driver mistaken for thief near Mumbai, lynched; 4 held

The accused belong to a rival group that also operates buses for schools and had attacked the driver believing he was trying to steal the battery of one of their buses, the police said.

Four people were arrested on Tuesday after a school bus driver who was attacked by them in Boisar on August 21 succumbed to injuries. Two more accused in the case are absconding. The accused belong to a rival group that also operates buses for schools and had attacked the driver believing he was trying to steal the battery of one of their buses, the police said.

After the incident, the driver was shifted to various hospitals and died on September 1. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Around 11.30pm on August 21, Ranjit Ramkrishna Pandey, 32, the victim, went behind a school bus parked near a dhaba. Pandey was drunk and going to answer nature’s call, the police said. “However, the driver of the school bus believed Pandey was trying to steal the battery of the bus and deflate the bus tyres so that they won’t be able to pick up school kids the next morning. So along with five people, mainly workers from roadside garages, the driver accosted Pandey and assaulted him,” said Janardhan Parabkar, police inspector, Boisar MIDC police.While two of the accused were identified as Anwar Shah and Mintoo Shah, the other two were identified only as Munna and Sharma.

After the incident, Pandey was shifted to various hospitals and died on September 1.