Man claims assault in gated community in Bengaluru, tweet goes viral

A Twitter storm erupted over a claim by a man that he had been assaulted while entering the gated community in Haralur where he lives.

In a series of tweets, Sanchit Kumar shared a video of the incident and accused a fellow resident, Subhash, of attacking him while entering the premises. Kumar said the incident happened on May 16, when he and his sister were returning home on a two-wheeler.

The premises has a partition at the main gate and residents are supposed to enter from the left and exit through the right.

Since the road to the 'in' gate was broken, Kumar rode the scooter from the right side to avoid accidents. Subhash, an elderly person in the community, objected to this and pointed out that Kumar was entering from the exit side. This resulted in an argument.

Kumar alleged that Subhash aggressively pushed his bike and punched him in the face. This left him with a deep rupture above his eyebrows and he had been recommended surgery.

Subhash told DH that he was merely defending himself from Kumar and had no intention of hurting him. “After an argument, Sanchit Kumar said that he will go back and take a U-turn,” he told DH.

“But instead of taking a U-turn, he tried to run over me. I had no option but to push his vehicle to defend myself. He lost balance and fell and started bleeding,” Subhash added.

He said he helped Kumar stand up and gave him first aid. “I also accompanied him to the hospital,” Subhash said.

Senior police officials said they would investigate the matter. “Be it a gated community or an open living area, the investigation will go on."

“However, in gated communities, there are a few rules, and we suggest that the residents do not get into a tussle over them,” the official added.

Subhash said Kumar’s lawyer approached him asking for a compensation of Rs 4 lakh for an out-of-court settlement. “Finally, they came to Rs 1 lakh. I agreed to pay that in installments. But they have now filed an FIR," he said.

Netizens divided

Netizens are divided over the incident, with some residents of the gated community and those living in the area saying the elderly person often caused problems.

Others said that the man was only trying to ensure the society’s rules are being followed.