Mumbai: Sessions Court Finds 2 Men Guilty Of 2006 BEST Driver Assault, Releases Them On Probation

Mumbai: A sessions court recently held two men guilty of assaulting a BEST bus driver and pelting stones at the vehicle in April 2006. The reason behind the attack remains unclear. The court, however, released them on probation, considering their good behaviour as well as the fact that one of the accused suffers from brain tumour.

The sessions court has asked the duo – Mukesh Sunder Bhatiya, 36, and Avinash Rajiv Abhichandani, 41 – to pay Rs 50,000 each to the driver by way of compensation. Besides, the district probation officer under the department of women and child welfare has been asked to keep a watch on the duo for three years and submit periodical reports about their status of good behaviour after every six months.

As per the prosecution, on April 12, 2006, the complainant BEST bus driver was driving near Morarji Mill Gate, Parel, when the accused intercepted the vehicle. Bhatiya entered the driver’s cabin, used abusive language and physically assaulted the driver, striking him on the chest. Simultaneously, Abhichandani threw a stone at the front windshield of the bus, shattering it and causing panic among passengers. They were later apprehended by the traffic constable at the signal.

The defence lawyers had raised a plea of mistaken identity and said that these two have been falsely implicated in the case. They claimed that they are not the once to have attacked the bus driver. The court, however, discarded their defence, saying that the prosecution has proved the case beyond reasonable doubts by examining six witnesses.