A 23-year-old man was stabbed by two men on a bike in front of his pregnant wife in a case of road rage in Kamalanagar in Basaveshwara Nagar in the early hours of Tuesday.

The victim, Praveen Kumar, sustained multiple stab injuries and was admitted to a private hospital by neighbours who rushed to his help after hearing the commotion.

According to the police, Praveen had gone to a party with his friends for New Year and had just returned home around 1 am in a cab. He alighted from the car and was walking when two men rode rashly towards him. As Praveen tried to evade them, the rider lost control over his bike and the duo fell down. Blaming Praveen for the accident, the duo got into a heated argument with Praveen which escalated into fisticuffs. One of them pulled out a knife and stabbed Praveen repeatedly on his chest, hand and leg, the police said.

As Praveen screamed for help, his pregnant rushed out and pleaded with the assailants to spare her husband. But the duo continued with their attack, holding him responsible for the fall and accusing him of abusing them. The duo fled after the neighbours rushed to Praveen's help on hearing his screams. Praveen is recuperating in a private hospital.

The Basaveshwarananagar police have registered a case of attempt to murder and efforts are on to trace the two suspects.