Bureaucrat's son booked for assault, victim demands attempt to murder charge

Mumbai: Priya Singh (26), who has alleged that her boyfriend Ashwajit Gaikwad tried to mow her down with his car near a hotel in Thane, on Saturday demanded that he should be arrested under attempt to murder charge. The police have registered a case against Gaikwad, who is a son of a top bureaucrat,under sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 279 (rash driving), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace) and others of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The accused denied the allegations and termed it as an attempt to extort money. Singh has been admitted to a hospital with multiple injuries.

According to Ms. Singh, the alleged incident took place at around 4.30am on Monday, when her alleged boyfriend and his friends assaulted her and rammed his car into her.

In her post on Instagram, Ms. Singh claimed that Ashwajit invited her to Court Yard Hotel, where he was attending a family function, at around 4:30 am on Monday. However, when she reached the hotel, her “boyfriend” ignored her. Later, she asked him to come out to speak to her. She claimed that when her “boyfriend” came out, he again ignored her and started to walk away. When she insisted him to talk, Ashwaji, his friend Romil Patil and driver Sagar Shedge assaulted her, she claimed.

Ms. Singh claimed that Ashwajit assaulted her and bit her on her hand in a fit of rage. Later, when she went to get her bag and mobile from his car, one of his friends started the ignition and she fell on the road and he drove over her right leg before speeding away.

Ms. Singh further claimed that she took to social media because Ashwajit used his contacts to hush up the matter. She also alleged that the police officials visited her after the case got media traction. “Even after five days, the police have not arrested anyone. No stringent sections including attempt to murder have not been invoked against the accused,” she said.

However, Ashwajit has claimed that the complainant was drunk at the time of the incident and she got injured in an accident that was not intentional. He also denied being her boyfriend.

“Whatever has been portrayed is untrue. She is just a friend. She came drunk to the hotel where we were having a family function and tried to force me to talk to her. When I refused, she started abusing me. She assaulted my friends when they tried to intervene. Shelke started the SUV so that she steps away, but unfortunately, she fell on the road. The accident was not intentional,” he said.