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The Dobbaspet police on Monday, June 23 arrested the gunman and driver of former Member of Parliament BJP Anantkumar Hegde for allegedly assaulting a 28-year-old businessman in a road rage incident near Nelamangala. The former union minister has been named as the third accused in the First Information Report (FIR).
The incident occurred when Anantkumar, along with his staff, was travelling to Bengaluru from Tumakuru. According to the police, the confrontation began when Saif Khan, a businessman from Nelamangala, and his family, who were in another vehicle, allegedly did not give way to Hegde’s SUV, despite repeated honking.
Enraged, the former MP's driver and gunman,who is a police constable, allegedly dragged Saif Khan out of his car and assaulted him, resulting in injuries including the loss of a tooth.
Passers-by reportedly intervened and, along with Khan's family, prevented the SUV from fleeing. The Dobbaspet police were alerted and rushed to the scene, taking the accused into custody.
According to reports, only the driver and gunman were initially arrested on charges of assault and criminal intimidation, the victim’s family insisted that Hegde be named in the case, alleging he instigated the attack. He was subsequently added to the FIR as accused number three.
A case has been registered under Sections 117 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt), 126 (wrongful restraint), 74 (assault or use of criminal force against a woman with the intent to outrage her modesty), 351(4) (criminal intimidation), and 352 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023.