Pune Road Rage Incident: Man Punches Woman And Assaults Her In Front Of Children

A man driving a car at high speed on Saturday afternoon followed a woman riding a scooter with two children, blocked her path, and punched her in the face. The incident occurred on Baner-Pashan Link Road after the woman had earlier asked him to drive properly when his car splashed mud on them. His wife, who was in the car, encouraged him during the altercation.

Jerlyn Dsilva, a 27-year-old marketing manager at Sheraton Grand Pune, shared her distressing experience in an Instagram video. She was visibly traumatised and bleeding from her nose. "I was trying to take the vehicle through the left side, not wanting to get in his way. This man overspeeds, risking the lives of so many people on the road, and takes a left turn, taking me to the side. This man gets out of the car furiously. He punches me twice and pulls my hair," said Dsilva.

She further added, "He didn't care about the kids. I want to ask how safe the city is. Where is this going? I had two kids with me. Anything could have happened. I just want this man to be punished for what he did."

Incident Details

The incident has raised concerns among residents of Baner and nearby areas about road rage and speeding issues. They also highlighted the lack of CCTV camera coverage in the area.

The police have detained the man, a retired engineer, and his 52-year-old wife. An officer from Chatushrungi police stated, "We are deciding on whether to arrest them or serve a notice to cooperate with the investigation." An FIR has been registered under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Motor Vehicles Act.

Eyewitness Accounts

Navneet Verma, who witnessed the incident from about 100 meters away, recounted what happened: "My wife and I were in the car behind her. We saw her stopping her two-wheeler on the side. All of a sudden the driver of the other car parked the vehicle near her, got out and tried to push the woman on the scooter with the kids very hard. They could have fallen into Ramnadi. Then he started hitting her. His wife was egging him on."

Verma added that they intervened and handed over the attacker to police officers who were nearby. They also took Dsilva and the frightened children to a clinic for first aid.

Jerlyn Dsilva's Ordeal

Dsilva lives in Hadapsar and was heading to an eatery in Baner with her neighbour's children aged seven and nine when a rashly driven car splashed mud on them around 1:30 PM. When she tried to tell the driver to drive properly, he abused her verbally.

Fearing for their safety, especially with children on board, she attempted to ride away but was pursued by the car which overtook other vehicles recklessly. She parked her scooter on one side hoping it would de-escalate things but instead faced physical assault from him.

Community Response

Siddhesh S., Dsilva's friend who spoke on her behalf as she was too shaken up at Sassoon General Hospital for a medical checkup said, "Dsilva lives in Hadapsar... When she tried telling him off for splashing mud onto them earlier while driving rashly he abused back." Siddhesh further explained how despite being scared herself due to having kids alone, she still managed to take away keys preventing escape until help arrived.

The parents of shocked children took them home after witnessing such traumatic events unfold right before their eyes leaving everyone involved deeply disturbed by what transpired that day.

This incident underscores growing concerns regarding road safety within Pune city limits prompting calls for better surveillance measures ensuring accountability among motorists thereby safeguarding citizens against similar occurrences henceforth.