Tanker driver beaten to death in road rage incident in Palghar; 4 held as video recorded by him helps cops

A 40-year-old driver of a tanker was allegedly beaten to death with sticks and an iron rod by four persons on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad highway in Maharashtra's Palghar district after his vehicle brushed past their car, an official said on Wednesday.

The incident occurred on October 1 morning, he said, adding that the victim, Ramkishore Badriprasad Kushwaha, had recorded the accused persons' act of beating him and damaging his vehicle on his mobile camera and sent the clip to his relative, which helped the police trace and arrest the four accused two days later.

"The victim, who resides in Nalasopara in Palghar, was transporting gas in the tanker to Gujarat. When the vehicle reached Maljipada in the district, it accidentally brushed past a car on the highway. Enraged over it, those travelling in the car stepped out and stopped the tanker. They started beating up its driver with sticks and an iron rod and also damaged his vehicle with stones," the official of Naigaon police station said.

"The victim kept telling them that he would pay compensation to them for whatever damages their car had suffered, but the accused were in no mood to listen and continued to beat him mercilessly. The victim recorded their act on his mobile camera and sent the video clip to his nephew," he said.

The accused persons then left the victim to die in the driver's cabin and escaped from the scene, he added.

The victim's nephew later reached the spot and took him to a hospital, where he was declared dead. The nephew also submitted the video sent to him by his deceased uncle to the police. The video clearly showed the number plate of the accused persons' car, which helped the police trace them, the official said.

Based on the complaint lodged by the victim's nephew, all the four accused were arrested from Nalasopara on Tuesday morning and booked under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 427 (mischief causing loss or damage to the amount of fifty rupees or upwards) and 34 (common intention), the police said.

Another official said the police will add section 302 (murder) to the case.