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Source: IBNLive

15 bikers beat up war veteran in a fit of road rage

Mumbai: The last thing 59-year-old Suresh Sharma, a former army brigadier, expected in retirement years was to be caught in hand-to-hand combat in his own neighbourhood. But that's just what happened on Monday night when the Vir Chakra award winner was on his way back from a temple in the area.

A group of 15 allegedly drunk, bike-riding youths dangeroursly over took his car and when the brigadier's wife rolled down the window to chide them about their driving, the boys reacted by abusing her. They then stopped their bikes in front of the car and the result was a scuffle which left the brigadier bruised and bandaged.

"One of the boys snatched my key, opened my side of the door and another boxed my left eye. I tried to fight them off, but they were too many of them," says he.

The police claim to have made some headway in the case though.Says Assistant Commissioner of Police, Navi Mumbai, Vijay Surya, "Five of fthe people have been detained and we will find out who else was involved."
However, the residents at Defence Enclave, Jal Vayu Vihar in Navi Mumbai are not satisfied and are now contemplating setting up an action comittee of their own. Says Brigadier Sharma's wofe, Geeta Sharma, "These incidents are happening too regularly and we are setting up a committee that will put pressure on the administration and the police to take swift action."

So until the police act to bring all the culprits to book, Brigadier Sharma, a war veteran, will have to live with not just the scars of the wounds sustained on Monday night, but also with the painful knowledge that it wasn't the enemy, but some ungrateful boys who brought him to this state.

Yes, this has been in the news but I hope the media gives this news more exposure. These incidents are happening too often. No one has any respect for anyone here. We are fast turning into a barbaric society.

Yes even I see the sad state in Bangalore. Noone seems to have absolute respect for a fellow human being....sad. I see guys abusing each other verbally and physically many times in road, which could probably be resolved in a better way. And this comes from the land of Mahatma who preached non-violence. I see so much of stuff that these days its no more an event for me :Frustrati

It is a sad state of affairs in Navi Mumbai. The incident is just one in the series of harrasment from the local youth from the villages in Navi Mumbai. They roam around on the bikes and precipitate issues with car drivers. It is in one way related to the "sons of soil" antipathy to the middle class settling down in Navi Mumbai especially Kharghar, Kalamboli, New Panvel etc.

I have been on tenterhooks many times while driving my car, and on full alert, preparing for any eventuality due to the rash driving of these goons.

Traffic police in Navi Mumbai are amateurs in comparison to their counterparts in Mumbai. So do not expect much to happen in near future.

just send them to an army boot camp for a couple of weeks and then they should be ok. Instill some discipline into their wayward lives. Thats the best punishment. Once they learn to get up early and go through the drill and get shouted at, they'll know.

I'm sure the army will give them special attention also. ;-)

Thats absolutely spot on !! Exactly what I have heard and experienced.

What a coincidence. I wrote to @GTO asking where to publish this and Lo this thread materializes! and Honourable @GTO, does the first letter represent 'GOD' by any chance? :)
Ok here goes.
What can we do about such incidents? The only way to kill disease is to start spawning the 'White Blood cells'. Here is something that will be the white blood we will sow in the indian road. Hoping that it will replicate.

We as a responsible forum should do our bit to make our roads a better place to be in. Towards this I have compiled a list of resolutions for all and sundry to TRY and adopt.

Driving Etiquettes/Resolutions

• I will not yell at a fellow road user whatever the case be. (I'm not his / her mother)
• I will be coureous to the fellow road user(even if the other person is at fault)
• I will give way to other vehicles whenever possible (at intersections, u-turns)
• I will give right of way to Cyclist and Pedestrians always (remember it just takes a flick of the wrist for you to shift to the 1st and move on. The cyclist needs more effort)
• I will not honk unecessarily (and I will use short bursts to warn if need be.)
• I will not jump the line of waiting cars and butt in
• I will always stick to my lane
• I will use my turn signal indicators whenever i change lane or take a turn
• I will turn on the turn signal indicators well in advance (not after stopping for a turn)
• I will use my turn signal indicators when starting the car from stop and joining the traffic
• I will follow the lane arc when turning. (I will not take racing cornering lines when turning on the roads. As in taking a right corner at the right extreme)
• I will not use my high beam in the city
• I will dip my high beam in the highways the moment i see an oncoming vehicle. (even if it is a divided highway)
• I will not flash at drivers in front of me to let me overtake. (I will wait for my opportunity to pass them)
• I will not pass another car across a yellow line
• I will not use flashing as an alternative to my horn at any time
• I will thank the fellow driver who gives me way
• I understand that my lights (head lights, brake lights, turn lights, parking lights) are important to the safety of other road users as much as mine and will ensure they work always
• I will pull over the moment i see/hear an ambulance
• I will never race another road user in the city.
• I will stop at an orange at the traffic lights
• I will not block the box at an intersection if the other side is jammed.

The list can grow. But, here is a tentative list. What say you folks?

I think the best way would be to make some kind of military training mandatory! Everyone must go through training, and discipline themselves. Would definitely make citizens more responsible & civilized.
:Frustrati

A few weeks back residents of Kharghar came out in protest against the opening of the first wine shop in that area. Their arguement is that if a wine shop opens it will make their kids take up drinking and all that blah blah. BTW, I wonder where these guys managed to drink. There was actually a Kharghar bandh against this and in the shilp chowk area people collected to disucss this grave issue. Yet, when something like this happens, no one comes out united against it. Why do Indians get charged up over statue/place of worship desecration, wine shop but not against bad roads, corruption , hooliganism? Mid-Day reports that village elders actually tried to convince cops not to arrest the hooligans and the guys are actually unrepentant and unapologetic about the incident.

I wonder what charges will be laid against these guys. I can bet that none of them has a drivers licence so apart from assault and attempt to murder, they should be charged with driving without possessing a drivers licence, over speeding and going 3 on a bike. But then I guess, the strict driving laws that our cops are over zealously enforcing don't apply to the sons of the soil.

The first time i returned to Bombay after a trip to France, i tried to drive folllowing traffic rules as applicable on the road. The result;

Got abused by rickshaw and Sumo drivers, left right and centre for giving right of way to pedestrians and in a round about.

Honked at for not moving before the light turned green (I NEVER do this anyway)

waited for a loooong time trying to change lanes the polite way (indicate and wait to be given passage). finally had to barge in and do it the 'right' way....

and many more things that i cant remember...the only we can do as a forum is to highlight this as the one thing that we can all do to actually improve the traffic situation.

I can still remember the look on the faces of the pedestrians trying to cross, when i stopped and let them pass, instead of honking and cursing..........

;)

agree:
Road rage is a very bad thing. The roads have turned so dangerous these days. Nobody has patience anymore.
Never loose your temper on the roads, even if the other guy is at fault. Else, you might end up exchanging a couple of blows with other drivers.

I still get 'Funny Looks' when i stop and wave a pedestrian over. They think am ridiculing them. Some in fact yelled at me with a nasty look on their face. Now, I have tuned my technique to Wave them over with a 'smile'. That works mostly.
As for changing lanes, I agree that waiting for a gap to move into is like never going to happen in India nor is anyone going to let you in.
However, I still follow rules as much as I can. I believe that if there are 5 drivers on the road in a stretch of 20 cars that follow even 50% of the etiquettes our roads will be a much better place. Then it is more a 'Gandhigiri' concept that spreads by itself.
At least thats what my 'belief' is :)
Anyway this topic is not such an interesting subject in this forum anyway :)