Youth from Dagdi chawl holds rickshaw, passenger hostage

Suraj Sonar (right) did not allow the rickshaw to leave; The rickshaw driver (right) said he apologised though he was not at fault

A motorcycle rider from Dagdi chawl - the den of former gangster-turned-politician Arun Gawli - created a ruckus with an auto rickshaw driver on the Western Express Highway (WEH), and blocked the path of the three-wheeler at Goregaon in which a female passenger was seated on Thursday. The nightmare lasted over two hours at night and the woman passenger alleged that cops, including the Nirbhaya Squad did not arrive despite her calls. On the other hand, when the youth called the cops, they arrived within few minutes.

The hot-headed youth, Suraj Ramadin Sonar, is a mobile mechanic and lives with his parents near Jacob Circle. Sonar was over speeding and the rickshaw driver had to apply brakes to avoid an incident. Following this, the woman alleged, the youth stopped the rickshaw from going ahead.

Priyal Kalas, the passenger

Sources in the traffic police told mid-day, "Suraj is a habitual traffic offender and often has been e-challaned for not following traffic rules. At present, six e-challans are pending against him since June 2022. Around Rs 4,500 fine has to be paid but he continues to violate the traffic."

Sonar was not a wearing helmet at the time he created ruckus causing traffic jam for a brief period on the WEH, said the auto-rickshaw driver.

Passenger abused

The passenger, Priyal Kalas, who is an HR professional in Powai, was returning home when the youth first indulged into heated argument with the auto-rickshaw driver, whose mobile phone and ignition key he snatched. Sonar also used foul language with Kalas when she intervened.

Kalas got terrified and started to dial police control room and also Nirbhaya squad repeatedly for more than an hour, but her desperate calls went unanswered.

After nearly two hours, Sonar dialed some personal numbers of policemen with whom he shared his location and a policeman drove a van to the spot within 5 minutes.

"I was travelling from Powai to Kandivli in the auto-rickshaw. It was around 8:45pm when the motorcyclist forced the driver to stop the auto-rickshaw in the middle of highway. We were in Goregaon," Kalas recalled. "Though the driver was not at fault, the rowdy youth continued his rant in the middle of the road and later, he snatched driver's mobile phone forcing him to park the auto-rickshaw aside. The driver apologized to the youth though he was not at fault. When I tried to pacify the motorcyclist, he gave me a look and asked me to keep mum," she added.

Where were cops?

"I got terrified and dialed the Mumbai police control room, but my calls went unanswered. Later, I also dialed the Nirbhaya Squad but, none of the calls was answered," she recalled.

The Nirbhaya Squad was launched last year in January and it was claimed by Mumbai police that the cops can reach women in trouble within a few minutes anywhere. "I continued to struggle on the road for police help for nearly two hours but none of them responded to my calls. I was in a hurry to reach home as my three-year-old daughter as well as elderly mother-in-law had been waiting for me. When they learnt that I would not travel ahead as the key of my auto had been snatched by the rowdy motorcyclist, my relatives got worried," she recalled.

Her husband as well as brother left their office assignments mid-way to rescue Kalas.

A few passersby tried to convince Sonar to resolve the matter and let her go home, but he allegedly replied saying, "Abhi mai pura bambai hilaa dalega… wo janti nahi hai mai kaha se aata hu… bahut dekhe hain maine iske jaise.'

‘I was not at fault'

The auto-rickshaw driver, Chhatradev Sah, told mid-day, "He had been driving recklessly on the road. Had I not stopped the vehicle, he could dashed mine. But he started shouting at me for no reason. Though I said sorry for no fault of mine, he did not let me to go. The youth also badmouthed me and inched closer to me to assault but the passersby intervened and saved me. I did not lose my temper as I am an outsider and came here to earn my livelihood. I follow all the traffic rules." "More than three hours got wasted due to this incident," he added.

It is learnt that the cops had detained the youth from Dagdi Chawl at Vanrai police station, but after Kalas and driver left the premises, he was let off.

"The cops just jotted down a few details of mine and a brief note about the incident, but they did not give me any NC or FIR copy. I reached home around 12:30 am," Kalas said.

‘She called me chhapri'

Talking to mid-day, Sonar said, "I was going to see someone at hospital in Kandivli when the incident took place. When I was talking to the driver, a female passenger started to shout at me. When I asked her to keep quiet, she called me ‘Chhapri'. This riled my nerves and asked the driver to keep the vehicle aside and called police. Most of the parents of my friends are in police department and I know everyone, as I live in Jacob Circle."

"At the police station, the cops threatened to book me in a case under section 509 of IPC. Later, the cops booked me under section 110 of Bombay Police Act and slapped me a fine of Rs 1,250. I paid and left Vanrai police station," Sonar told mid-day. Senior Inspector Rampiyare Rajbhar of Vanrai police station said, "We have not registered an FIR or NC on Thursday night. We don't have information about the woman and if anyone was caught he will be released with a warning. We have to check about this incident."