GURGAON: A 38-year-old man was pinned to the ground and beaten with iron rods on Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway after a late-night collision between two cars spiralled into a road rage, leaving him with grievous head injuries and unable to give a statement to police for nearly a week.Ashish Sharma, a resident of Sohna, was attacked near Kherki Daula around 12.30am on June 12 after the car he was travelling in crashed into another vehicle parked on the roadside. The case was registered nearly a week later on Friday after doctors declared Sharma fit to speak.According to the complaint, Sharma was travelling towards the city with his friend Yatin Rao – who was behind the wheel – and Rao’s female friend when their car rammed into a Rajasthan-registered Maruti parked on the highway. Sharma’s father said the vehicle had been left on the roadside while its occupants were repairing a puncture. “There were no emergency lights, hazard indicators or warning signs. They also appeared drunk,” he added.Both vehicles were damaged, but the three occupants of the parked car started abusing Sharma and his companions. The group tried to settle the matter, offering money for food and a hotel stay and assuring them that repairs would be arranged the next morning. But the argument turned violent. According to Sharma’s complaint, the men began abusing and assaulting Yatin and his female friend. When Sharma stepped in, they turned on him. “As my son tried to intervene, they attacked him with rods and kept hitting him till he fell unconscious,” his father said.Sharma told police when they tried to leave in an autorickshaw and avoid further confrontation, the accused stopped them, snatched the keys and dragged him out before launching another assault. “That’s when they beat me with rods and sticks and left me there,” he added.He alleged that though Yatin and his female friend managed to escape, he remained trapped as the accused repeatedly struck his head, forehead and face. The three attackers fled only after Sharma slumped to the ground and they believed he had died.A highway patrol team later found Sharma lying injured and shifted him to a nearby hospital.Police visited the hospital on June 13, 14 and 16, but doctors repeatedly declared Sharma unfit to give a statement. He was discharged on June 18, and police recorded his statement at home the next day. “My son is still in pain and sometimes fails to recognise people,” his father said. An FIR was registered at Kherki Daula police station under BNS sections 3(5), 285, 324(4), 115(2) and 117(2).
