12 November,2014 08:09 AM IST | | Chetna Sadadekar
College student from Bandra booked for attacking a 40-year-old woman allegedly because she helped their neighbour, who is locked in a property feud with his family
A 20-year-old college student has been booked for assaulting and threatening a 40-year-old woman at Bandra's Hill Road.
Ashish Pandey, a resident of Somnath Lane, was angry with her for helping out their neighbours - the Dubey family - who the Pandeys are locked in a property feud with.
Sandra Rocha points to the spot where Ashish Pandey was sitting before accosting her on the road
Angry Neighbour
When Sandra Rocha was on her way home from work on October 27, Pandey halted her two-wheeler and pulled out the keys so he could assault her, as per Rocha's complaint to the police.
He ripped her vehicle's seat and destroyed her helmet, the complaint states.
The Dubeys and the Pandeys have been battling it out in court over a residential plot. As a related development years ago, Uma Dubey's water connection had been cut off. She had been getting the water she needed for her household from Bandstand, until finally Rocha began giving her water.
After Pandey found out that Rocha was helping his family foe, he was infuriated. The Pandeys have allegedly issued threats to her many times against helping Dubey out.
FIR registered
The Bandra police have registered an FIR against three members of the Pandey family, including Ashish, under sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code.
Rocha said, "Ashish Pandey accosted me on the road, threw away my bike keys, struck my helmet and pulled my hair. He even grasped a rod from a neighbourhood garage to hit me. Some bystanders saved me or else I could have been hospitalised. He assaulted me for helping Uma with water. As a neighbour and a human, I ought to help them."
She continued, "I am upset that he was let off by the police so easily. I am sure there was some political backing.
She shows her damaged helmet and her vehicle's ripped seat cover
Vinod Tiwari, a BJP politician later came to me and apologised on his behalf and promised no harm would come to me or my family. That's when I realised the power play involved in the matter."
When mid-day spoke with Tiwari, he said, "I just wanted to broker peace between the neighbours, because Ashish Pandey is a distant kin of mine, and he is just a college kid."
Attempts to get in touch with Pandey or his family yielded no result.
