Mumbai: Auto driver alleges assault by cop, no case filed

An autorickshaw driver on Monday alleged he was beaten up by a sub-inspector of the Vakola

traffic police in the metropolis though the latter's seniors denied the allegations and claimed the driver was abusive and

at fault. A video of the altercation between Sub Inspector

Dhondiram Pingole and autorickshaw driver Shadab Ali (27), which took place at 11:30 am on Monday in front a police post

in Kalina area of Santa Cruz, was widely shared on social media.

The video showed Pingole hitting Ali, fining him Rs 400 for wrongly parking the autorickshaw, and then offering

him tea at a roadside shop. "The PSI slapped me some 15-20 times because of which

I am unable to hear properly. I came to speak to him after my brother's autorickshaw was found parked wrongly and I had

offered to pay the fine. The PSI, however, started hitting me," Ali alleged.

He said he had undergone several medical tests to prove the injuries inflicted by the PSI and would lodge a

case. Denying the charges, Senior Inspector Arvind

Chandanshive of Vakola traffic police division said, "If he files an FIR, we too will charge Ali. I was present at the

spot and it was Ali who abused our officer after his rickshaw was found in a no-parking spot. His allegations are completely

false." Vakola police station Senior Inspector Kailash Ahwad

said no complaint has been received from either side.