Mumbai: 26-year-old man beaten with baseball bat in road rage incident

There were three occupants in the car that had a signboard of ‘Police’ on the windshield. Pic/Hanif Patel

A 26-year-old businessman was assaulted with a baseball bat on Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway near Sativali Khind in Vasai East on Friday.

The three occupants of the car which had a ‘police' signboard on the front and ‘brahman' signboard on the rear side, chased the businessman, Harsh Panchal for 5-km and assaulted him brutally with a baseball,

They pinned him down on the road and continued raining blows for several minutes. However, none of the passers-by stepped in to help the victim.

Panchal is a resident of Thane and was going to his factory in Vasai from Ghodbundar Road when the incident took place.

The commissioner of Mira Bhayandar Vasai Virar (MBVV) police, Sadanand Date confirmed that a case has been registered at Valiv police station.

"The accused is yet to be arrested," said DCP (HQ) Vijaykant Sagar.

"The incident took place on Mumbai-Ahmedabad Highway at 10am on a Friday over overtaking," said an officer privy to the investigation.

Mid-day reached out to the victim, Panchal who said he had slowed down his Scorpio to navigate through a pothole on road near Maljipada.

"There is ongoing construction of a bridge, so all the vehicles were moving slowly. I was driving at a speed of hardly 10kmph and had to navigate through a pothole on road. But an Ertiga behind me was repeatedly honking," recalled Panchal.

"There were three occupants in the car that had a signboard of ‘Police' on the windshield. The driver of the car overtook and started abusing me…so I did not respond to them and preferred to speed up," he added.

One of the accused also threatened Panchal with a baseball while the cars were running on road.

"I was just about to take a left turn from the highway to enter Vasai but the accused chased me for over 5-km and after overtaking me, they blocked my path near Sativali Khind," he said.

After sensing threat, Panchal took out his cellphone to video record the incident.

"After I stopped the car, one of the accused came out and banged the windshield of my car with the heavy stick. I got terrified and somehow my car got unlocked," he said.

"I could notice two other men coming out of the Ertiga and they pulled me out of my car and hit me with a baseball on my head. I was almost unconscious but he did not stop assaulting me with the baseball while his accomplices rained the blows all over my body," he recalled.

"All the vehicles stopped when I was being beaten. Though I begged people to help me, no-one dared to intervene as the assaulters threatened even the on-lookers," he recalled.

"After the assaulters left, I managed to enter the car and reached Valiv police station where the FIR was registered against unknown persons under sections 324, 323, 504, 506, 427 and 34 but they did not add section of attempt to murder," he said.

DCP Sagar said, "We have identified the car and the accused will soon be arrested."