A 38-year-old girl reportedly lost her life after she was run over by a man driving a speeding car in the parking area of a residential complex in Indore, Madhya Pradesh due to a dispute between the accused’s family and other residents over renting a penthouse apartment on the online platform Airbnb.
The victim has been identified as Shampa Pathak Pandey, a software engineer at Infosys. The incident occurred on Wednesday night after a dispute between residents of the complex and the family of a penthouse owner over renting the property through Airbnb, an earlier HT report quoted the police.
“The victim succumbed to his injuries at Bombay Hospital,” police said.
A video of the incident surfaced on social media on Thursday, showing the accused, Mohit Chaudhary, hitting a housemaid and a technician with his car.
Police officials said that Mohit Chaudhary and his father Kuldeep Chaudhary have been arrested.
What was the dispute?
“The incident occurred around 10:30 pm in Shiv Vatika town on Highway 11. Kuldeep Choudhary had rented his apartment through Airbnb. Residents had objected to guests arriving frequently and late at night,” said Lasudiya Town Inspector Tarnesh Soni.
“The situation escalated after the residents cut off the electricity in the penthouse, after which Kuldeep Chaudhary cut off the electricity in other flats, leading to a confrontation. He called his son, who arrived in a car and hit some people. He first hit a domestic helper and then hit Shamba Pandey,” the officer added.
Pandey’s husband, Saurabh Pandey, said the family had recently moved into the building and went to the parking area after hearing a commotion. He added: “Amidst the chaos, the accused ran over my wife and her domestic help. He also tried to hit me, but I managed to escape. Later, he rammed the car into the wall.”
Residents claimed that the penthouse was not part of the original building plan, and had previously complained to the construction company about violations and alleged disturbances associated with its use, but no action was taken.
The inspector said:CCTV footage of the incident has been seized and a case has been registered against the accused under relevant sections. Further investigations are underway.”
