MUMBAI: A school bus driver, Ranjit Pandey (32), who was allegedly mistaken for a thief and beaten up by a mob last month in Boisar succumbed to his injuries on Sunday.
It has now emerged that a driver from a rival school bus operator instigated the mob— men working at a nearby garage—to beat up Pandey. Police in Boisar, about 120km northwest of Mumbai, have registered a case of murder and rioting against six men, four of whom have been arrested while two, including the rival driver (whose name has not been revealed), are on the run.
This is the second such incident in MMR—an auto driver was mistaken for a thief and lynched in Naigaon in March.
On August 21, Pandey, who used to drive a school bus, was urinating behind a parked bus belonging to a rival operator in Boisar MIDC area.
The driver of the parked bus, who had alighted to get some work done at the nearby garage, saw Pandey and raised an alarm that a thief was trying to steal the battery of his bus. Five men working on the roadside garage ran towards Pandey, pinned him down on the ground and rained punches and kicks on his chest and abdomen. The driver from the rival operator joined in.
Eyewitnesses told the police that Pandey pleaded with the men that he was not a thief and had stopped to answer nature’s call. But the mob continued to blow punches at him, said inspector Janardhan Parabkar.
The attack continued for about 20 minutes. The men left an injured Pandey on the road; he managed to reach his home in Shivaji Nagar, another area in Boisar. He narrated the incident to his family and mentioned the other driver. On August 22, his condition worsened and he was taken to a hospital in Surat. He was later shifted to another hospital in Valsad. On Saturday, he was moved to a Silvassa hospital after suffering multiple organ failure and succumbed to injuries the next day.
Pandey’s family approached the police on Monday, following which a case of murder and rioting was registered. Police made four arrests on Tuesday. The arrested men told the police they were not aware that the now-wanted driver knew Pandey and that they attacked him only because of the alarm that he was a thief.
Police said they are questioning the owners of the two school bus firms. Police are looking for CCTV footage of the area to ascertain what transpired on the night of the incident.
It has now emerged that a driver from a rival school bus operator instigated the mob— men working at a nearby garage—to beat up Pandey. Police in Boisar, about 120km northwest of Mumbai, have registered a case of murder and rioting against six men, four of whom have been arrested while two, including the rival driver (whose name has not been revealed), are on the run.
This is the second such incident in MMR—an auto driver was mistaken for a thief and lynched in Naigaon in March.
On August 21, Pandey, who used to drive a school bus, was urinating behind a parked bus belonging to a rival operator in Boisar MIDC area.
The driver of the parked bus, who had alighted to get some work done at the nearby garage, saw Pandey and raised an alarm that a thief was trying to steal the battery of his bus. Five men working on the roadside garage ran towards Pandey, pinned him down on the ground and rained punches and kicks on his chest and abdomen. The driver from the rival operator joined in.
Eyewitnesses told the police that Pandey pleaded with the men that he was not a thief and had stopped to answer nature’s call. But the mob continued to blow punches at him, said inspector Janardhan Parabkar.
The attack continued for about 20 minutes. The men left an injured Pandey on the road; he managed to reach his home in Shivaji Nagar, another area in Boisar. He narrated the incident to his family and mentioned the other driver. On August 22, his condition worsened and he was taken to a hospital in Surat. He was later shifted to another hospital in Valsad. On Saturday, he was moved to a Silvassa hospital after suffering multiple organ failure and succumbed to injuries the next day.
Pandey’s family approached the police on Monday, following which a case of murder and rioting was registered. Police made four arrests on Tuesday. The arrested men told the police they were not aware that the now-wanted driver knew Pandey and that they attacked him only because of the alarm that he was a thief.
Police said they are questioning the owners of the two school bus firms. Police are looking for CCTV footage of the area to ascertain what transpired on the night of the incident.
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