Brawl over wrong-side driving leaves man with fractured nose in Pune; 4 arrested

PUNE An employee of an investment banking firm ended up with a fractured nose and his friend suffered a dislocated shoulder after they were allegedly assaulted by four men following an argument over wrong-side driving.

The incident occurred in Khadki around 5.45pm on Monday.The Khadki police have arrested the four men.

The victim, Satyam Sukhsagar Bhargav, stated in his police complaint that he was driving back to his Kharadi residence from Nashik. According to the complaint, Bhargav was near a gurdwara on Elphinstone Road when two men riding a two-wheeler on the wrong side crossed his vehicle. Bhargav told them to ride in the correct lane, and the two men left the spot.The complaint states that the two men took a U-turn and approached Bhargav’s vehicle. They started pounding on the car, assaulted Bhargav, and called two of their friends to the spot, the complaint added.Meanwhile, Bhargav tried calling the police helpline, 112, and his friend, who rushed to the spot and tried to stop the four men from assaulting Bhargav, the complaint added.In the ensuing altercation, Mahesh was attacked by the four men, causing a shoulder dislocation.

At the same time, two policemen arrived, prompting the four men to flee the spot. Bhargav, who was bleeding profusely from the nose, and Mahesh were taken to the Khadki cantonment hospital for preliminary treatment, following which they were taken to Yashvantrao Chavan Memorial Hospital in Pimpri. Bhargav was advised surgery on his fractured nose, the complaint stated.The Khadki police registered a case against the four men on charges under sections 118 (2) for voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapon or means, 115(2) for voluntarily causing hurt, 126(2) for wrongful restraint, 352 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) and 3 (5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). “The complainant has given us the registration numbers of the two bikes used by the assailants,” a Khadki police officer told TOI.By Tuesday evening, police said they identified and arrested the four men.