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Pune: What started as a routine drive back home turned into a nightmare for a young Mumbai woman after a minor road incident on the Katraj–Dehu Road bypass spiralled into violence. The 28-year-old woman, an HR executive from Chembur, suffered a serious injury to her left eye after the car she was travelling in was chased and attacked by three men riding a two-wheeler. Stones were allegedly thrown at the vehicle and its windows were smashed, forcing doctors to carry out emergency surgery to save her eyesight.
The incident took place near an underpass in Pune when the car reportedly brushed past the two-wheeler while overtaking, causing the tyre to run over the foot of one of the riders. Police said the three men involved were detained and later let off after notices were issued to them as per procedure.
According to the FIR, the injured woman, Puja Gupta, was seated beside her fiancé, who was driving them back to Mumbai on December 6 after they had visited his parents in Gaikwadnagar, Punawale.
The complaint states that although no one was seriously hurt when the tyre passed over the rider’s foot, the situation quickly became heated. The men allegedly began shouting abuses at the couple, and one of them picked up a stone and threw it at the car, shattering the windscreen.
Sensing danger, the couple tried to drive away from the spot. However, their escape was cut short when the car slowed down due to heavy traffic near the Punawale underpass. The attackers are said to have caught up with the vehicle and smashed the remaining windows, including the rear windscreen, while the car was stuck in the jam.
During the assault, a sharp piece of broken glass flew into Gupta’s left eye, leaving her with a deep and serious injury. She was rushed to a private hospital in Chinchwad, where doctors performed an emergency corneoscleral repair surgery in an attempt to prevent permanent damage. More than a week after the operation, Gupta said her vision has still not returned.
“The doctors initially thought one surgery would be enough, but they have also said that another procedure may be required if my eyesight does not improve. They are not sure if my vision will fully come back because there is blood inside the eye,” she said.
A case has been registered under sections 126(2) for wrongful restraint, 125 and 125(a) for rash or negligent acts endangering life, 324(4) for mischief, and 352 for intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Gupta said she had requested the police to add a charge of attempted murder.
“That section was not applied, and the accused were allowed to go home despite the seriousness of the injury. There has to be strict punishment so that such attacks do not happen again,” she said.
