Mumbai: Minor crash on Marve Road turns into violent mob attack

A minor brush between a car and a bike on Marve Road Malad West spiralled into a case of road rage on Sunday evening when a mob of nearly 15 men attacked a group of youngsters with iron rods and bamboo sticks leaving one critically injured The incident is one of two violent road rage cases reported in Mumbai within the past 36 hoursMalvani MaladAccording to police the violence began after a green Ola electric bike grazed an Innova car near Rathodi village The two parties exchanged heated words but dispersed without further incident However an hour later the same bikers allegedly returned with 1015 accomplices The gang dragged the carrsquos occupants out smashed the vehiclersquos windows and assaulted them with rods and sticksCar from the Aarey incident with a lsquoMaharashtra Administrationrsquo sticker displayed inside right Broken side mirror of the car involved in the Aarey road rage clash PicsBy Special ArrangementComplainant Prince Rajesh Tiwari 24 a resident of Janakalyan Nagar said he and his friends Prashant Pandey 22 Rudra Shukla 22 Vivek Tiwari 34 and Aditya Jaiswal 19 were headed towards Dana Paani Beach when the mob struck ldquoThey badly damaged our car and hit Prashant on the head with an iron rod He needed over 15 stitches and is still critical Shockingly when we went to the police station officers initially refused to register our complaintrdquo Tiwari told midday He also alleged that the attackers identified as locals from Madh village remain at largePolice said the attackers also robbed Pandey of a gold chain worth nearly Rs 1 lakh A case has been registered at Malvani police station for assault robbery and criminal intimidation Senior Inspector Shailendra Nagarkar confirmed that six accused have been identified but are abscondingAarey Colony clashIn another road rage incident Aarey police booked two animal activists Vijay Rangare 35 and Mohammed Rais Shaikh for rash driving assault and causing injuries during a violent scuffle near Powai toll naka in the early hours of ThursdayPolice said the duo after drinking at a bar in Royal Palms accidentally hit a pedestrian while returning from Aarey Colony where they had gone for dog rescue work Instead of stopping they fled prompting the victim Kalpesh Pawar 25 and his friends to chase and intercept them near the toll booth The activists allegedly claimed to be government officials mdash pointing to a ldquoMaharashtra Administrationrdquo sticker on their car mdash and threatened the youth The fight escalated into stonepelting injuring both sidesTwo days later the activists returned with supporters demanding that police register a murder case against the youth However subsequent medical reports showed injuries on both parties leading police to register FIRs against both sides Senior Inspector Ravindra Patil of Aarey police said ldquoThe activists initially portrayed themselves as victims but medical checks proved they were also aggressors We have filed cases against both groups and issued noticesrdquo