Thane: In a bizzarre incident, two women, one of them carrying a baby in her arms, were badly beaten up by both men and women in Dombivli on Monday night just because they said "excuse me" in English. A video of the assault went viral provoking outrage in the social media.
The women, Geeta Chauhan (38) and Poonam Gupta were on a two-wheeler with the latter riding pillion along with a nine-month-old child. When they tried to enter their building, Ganesh Shraddha in Vishnunagar, Dombivli (W) at 9.45 p.m. , they found the gate being blocked by their neighbours, Anil Pawar (40), Babasaheb Dabhale (41) and Ritesh Dabhale (22).
Chaudhan said "excuse me" to them with the request to clear the entrance. The use of English enraged the trio who pulled the women and the child from the scooter and beat them up with sticks. They were joined by a few women too. The entire incident was caught on video by a bystander who uploaded it on social media. The women are from the north.
Video Credit: Maharashtra News {Youtube}
Instead of registering an FIR for criminal assault and outraging modesty, the Vishnunagar police recorded only a non-cognisable (NC) complaint.
Eyewitnesses said they showed no concern for the nine-month-old baby. 'Excuse me' is a common courtesy and the accused's reaction was unwarranted, the complainant said.
Senior inspector Sanjay Pawar of Vishnu Nagar police said his staff was "investigating" the incident before registering a regular FIR. He said they were trying to find out if the incident was the outcome of any past dispute. The shocking incident has taken place in the background of the MNS workers beating up bank staff for not speaking in Marathi.
