Ex-Army officer beaten up by five in road rage

Gurgaon: A retired Army colonel, who was returning home after visiting his ailing father at Medanta Hospital, alleged he was thrashed, his SUV was vandalised, and he was forced to transfer Rs 30,000 via UPI after his vehicle collided with a car carrying five youths near Vatika Chowk on Faridabad Road.Police said the incident occurred on Sunday night when Col Anil Yadav (retired) — in his late 50s and a resident of Sector 60 — was driving towards Golf Course Road in his MG Gloster. His SUV hit a Hyundai i20 Sportz (registration H336AN/0323) on the left side from behind near Vatika Chowk. The cops said they were probing two possibilities — whether the retired Army officer struck the i20 while attempting to overtake, or whether the i20, which was moving on the right, suddenly swerved left, leaving the SUV driver with little time to react.
In his complaint, filed at Sector 50 police station on Monday, Yadav alleged that after the collision, he pulled over and stepped out to check the damage. But the i20's occupants allegedly dragged him by the collar, pinned him to the ground and rained blows and punches on him. The retired Armyman told cops he was struck on the head and face with a copper water bottle that was inside his own car.He further alleged that the youths damaged his SUV's lights and windows, and tried to force him into their vehicle. The attempt failed, he claimed, because their car would not start. Yadav said he was then made to transfer Rs 30,000 through UPI as "compensation" for the damage."The victim suffered injuries on the head and face. According to him, the accused hit him with a copper water bottle which was inside his SUV. One of the suspects was holding a beer bottle with which he damaged his car. The victim was not hit by any beer bottle," said Sukhbir, SHO of Sector 50 police station.Police said the five were arrested on Monday. They are (23), Vikas (21) and Nikhil (21), all from Rewari, and Sahil (22) and Ankit Kumar (22), both from Mahendergarh. "During questioning, police found that the accused had come to attend a wedding in Badshapur on Feb 21. Pankaj, Sahil and Ankit work at a private company in Rewari, while Vikas is a second-year BA student and Nikhil is pursuing BCom second year," said police spokesperson Sandeep Turan.An FIR was registered against them under sections 115(2) (voluntarily causing hurt), 190 (every member of an unlawful assembly guilty of any offence committed to achieve the group's common goal), 191(2) (rioting), 351(2) (criminal intimidation), 281 (reckless, negligent, or dangerous driving/riding on public roads that endangers human life or safety even if no accident occurs), 125 (rash or negligent acts that endanger human life or personal safety), 324(4) (mischief), and 308(4) (extortion) of BNS at Sector 50 police station.A relative of the youths insisted that Yadav was at fault, claiming he hit their i20 on the rear side in a bid to overtake from the left.Yadav was admitted to Medanta Hospital, where sources said the injuries were not critical. Though the victim suffered a head injury with external bleeding, scans ruled out skull penetration or intracranial damage.Earlier in the day, another Armyman, Col Rohit Dev, posted on X that Yadav was returning from Medanta when he was punched and attacked with beer bottles.