Pune road rage incident: Couple, three-year-old child assaulted; case registered against four

PUNE: A serious case of road rage has come to light in the Wagholi area of Pune district, Maharashtra, where the occupants of a car allegedly assaulted a couple travelling on a motorcycle along with their three-year-old child. Police have registered a case against four individuals, including two women, in connection with the incident.

According to the complaint lodged at the Wagholi Police Station, the complainant, Shantanu Niranjan Shukla (35), an engineer employed with a private company and a resident of Majestic City in Wagholi, had gone shopping on Tuesday evening at Decathlon, Wagholi, with his wife Vartika and their three-year-old son, Shivan.

At around 7 P.M., the family was returning home on their motorcycle. While taking a U-turn at Soyrik Garden Chowk near Decathlon, a car approaching from the Kharadi side, allegedly collided with their motorcycle.

According to the complaint, the family requested the driver to drive carefully and slowly. However, the occupants of the car allegedly responded with verbal abuse. The complainant stated that the abusive behaviour continued until Wagholi Chowk.

During the argument, Vartika Shukla reportedly took a photograph of the vehicle. The complaint further alleges that near Avhalwadi Phata Chowk, the car driver deliberately stopped the vehicle and blocked the motorcycle’s path, causing the family to fall onto the road.

The complainant alleged that one of the accused threatened him, saying, “I will finish you off right here,” before physically assaulting him along with the driver. During the scuffle, the accused allegedly struck the three-year-old child on the face, causing injuries to his lip and resulting in bleeding.

The family further alleged that when Vartika Shukla attempted to intervene and stop the fight, two women travelling in the car got out and physically assaulted her by pulling her hair.