On Monday (December 11), a man named Ashwajit Gaikwad allegedly mowed down his girlfriend under his SUV in Thane, Maharashtra. Victim Priya Singh was seriously injured after he allegedly crashed his Land Rover Defender into her on Ovala Road in Thane’s Ghodbunder area. The accused is the son of Anil Gaikwad, the Managing Director of the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation. According to the victim, she and the accused were in a relationship for four and a half years.
Taking to her Instagram account, the victim, who is currently hospitalised, shared her pictures after sustaining multiple injuries and also posted a note revealing the details of the incident. The victim said that on early Monday morning, her boyfriend Ashwajit called her to meet him while he was at a function along with his friends. Priya went to meet the accused who she claims was behaving strangely. The victim said that she tried to talk to him in private, however, Ashwajit’s friend Romil Patil did not let them talk. The situation escalated into a heated argument, the victim claimed, and Ashwajit, along with his friends, began hurling verbal abuses at the victim. When Priya asked her boyfriend to defend her, he allegedly slapped and tried to strangulate her.
“My boyfriend slapped me, tried to strangle my neck. I tried to push him away he bit my hand, beat me, pulled by hair and his friend out of nowhere pushed me to the ground,” Priya wrote.
Meanwhile, Ashwajit’s friends Romil Patil, Prasad Patil, and Sagar Shelke also joined him in attacking the victim. As the situation started getting worse, she headed to retrieve her bag and phone from the SUV, but the perpetrators allegedly attempted to cause her serious harm by first driving the SUV into her back near a divider, then returning and driving it over her right leg before speeding away.
“While they got into the car and started moving, I realised that my phone and purse was in the car. As soon as I reached the door of the Range Rover, I heard him (Ashwajit Gaikwad) say ‘uda de isko’ (ram into her) to his driver Sagar. He sped up immediately and I fell to the ground as I was hit by the left side of the car, after which he drove the rear left wheel over my right leg.”
The bone below her right knee got fractured from the impact and required surgical intervention. Gaikwad’s driver Sagar also threatened her not to complain about the incident while taking her to the hospital saying that “Chichi Bhai” [Ashwajit Gaikwad] comes from a well-connected and influential family, the victim wrote.
In her post, Singh has tagged Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Union Minister Smriti Irani, Shiv Sena-UBT leader Aditya Thackeray, and other political leaders.
Meanwhile, the Kasarvadavali police have lodged a case against Ashwajit, Shelke, Romil and Prasad Patil based on victim Priya Singh’s complaint, however no arrests have been made so far. The victim has alleged that police are not making arrests in the matter since the accused persons have links with influential people. Meanwhile, the victim’s post has gone viral on social media. The accused were booked under sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 279 (rash driving on a public way) and 338 (causing grievous hurt by act endangering life or personal safety of others) of the Indian Penal Code.
