Three people have been arrested for allegedly obstructing and assaulting a man in an alleged rage incident on the Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway earlier this week, police said on Tuesday.
Madore police arrested the suspects after a video went viral on social media showing the man being dragged from his car and then kicked and punched by a group of men – in front of his wife and son. The dash cam footage was recorded by another motorist.
Police arrested three men, confiscated two vehicles allegedly used in the incident, and are searching for two others.
The encounter took place around 10 pm on Sunday in Maddur Rural Police Station area in Mandya district. Investigators said the violence followed what initially appeared to be a dispute that was settled as a result of a minor collision near the Srirangapatna toll plaza.
The video shows several men surrounding a blue car before pulling the driver from his seat and assaulting him while his family, including a woman and a child, remained inside the car. At one point, one of the attackers appears to hit the driver with what looks like a metal object. The woman later got out of the car and begged the group to stop before passing motorists intervened and dispersed those involved.
Mandya Superintendent of Police Shobha Rani said the accident occurred when a car collided with another vehicle near the toll plaza.
Read also:Family with children attacked by mob on Bengaluru-Mysuru Expressway, triggering shocking road rage videos
“The accident took place on Sunday evening around 10 pm under Maddur police station limits. Initially, a car driven by the victim Sagar Kumar (37), who works as an assistant director at BMRCL, collided with another car near the Srirangapatna toll plaza. Both parties immediately resolved the issue and continued their journey,” the SP said.
According to police, the occupants of the other car later stopped to inspect the damage and concluded it was more serious than they initially thought. She added: “But after they traveled a few kilometers, the defendants, who were in two cars, stopped to inspect their car, and found that the damage was more than they initially thought. They then chased the victim’s car and repeatedly asked the driver to stop, and when the victim did not stop, they forcefully intercepted the car and assaulted him.”
Investigators said officers did not learn of the assault until after the dashcam footage went viral on social media. The victim filed a complaint on Monday.
“The victim, Sagar Kumar, filed a complaint on Monday. We arrested three accused and seized two cars used in the crime,” Rani said.
The arrested persons were identified as Santhosh, Arun and Abhinandan, aged between 25 and 35 years. Two other suspects, Venkatesh and Pratap, are still at large, police said.
“We presented them on Monday before the JMFC court and request that the accused be remanded for investigation,” she said.
“Both the accused and the victim are residents of Bengaluru and were returning to the city when the incident occurred. A case has been registered under the relevant provisions of Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita for assault, criminal intimidation and acts endangering life. Efforts are on to arrest the remaining accused,” the SP added.
