Video Producer: Maaz Hasan
Video Editor: Karuna Mishra, Purnendu Pritam
Imagine you are travelling with your family, and two men surround your car, verbally abuse you, and pelt stones at your car. What would you do in such a situation?
On 5 August, I was returning home from a family function in Bengaluru. Around 5:30 pm, I noticed through the rearview mirror that two individuals were chasing us (on a bike). They eventually overtook us and parked their two-wheeler in front of our car.
The car with broken rearview mirror.
(Photo Credit: Priyam Dutta)
Suddenly they came towards us and started using abusive language. They began to hit the car's windows and even attempted to break the rearview mirrors. One of them picked up a stone from a road, pointed towards us, and threatened us.
All of this was happening at Nallurhalli near Whitefield in Bengaluru. I was scared as I had two women in the car - my cousin sister, and wife. We tried calling 112, but the number was unreachable. When we attempted to use our phones to call someone for help, they became even more aggressive.
The dent on the car where stone hit the car.
(Photo Credit: Priyam Dutta)
They stopped us for the third time at Ramagondanhalli. This was a bit crowded area, so some passersby came forward and helped us. The whole incident was recorded on my dash cam.
We went straight to the Whitefield Police Station and registered an FIR. We also submitted the dash cam footage at the police station. I thank the police for catching the two men within a few hours of filing the complaint.
But the incident is very traumatic for us. I have frequent thoughts of 'What would have happened if they had successfully broken the glass and got inside the car.' This isn't a one-off incident. Several incidents have been reported recently in Bengaluru in the recent times.
A similar incident occurred in the Varthur area in Bengaluru, where four men attacked people travelling in a car. This is very scary. While the case has been registered and the matter will be heard in court, I expect a strict verdict in the case so that it sets a precedent.
A Police Source To The Quint...
A police source told The Quint, "We used the dash cam footage to catch the two men on the bike since the bike didn't have a registration number. The two men are identified as Murali, a tennis coach, and Raghu, an electrician. They don't have a criminal history."
Police have registered a case under IPC Section(s) 506 (criminal intimidation), 504 (intent to provoke a breach of peace), 307 (attempt to murder), 427 (causing loss and damage), and 341 (wrongful restraint). The identified men have been sent to judicial custody, and the investigation ongoing.
(The Quint has reached out to the Jawaharlal University Administration on the issue raised by the students of Centre for Historical Studies. Their response is awaited. The Story would be updated once a response is received.)
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