Late Tuesday night, a 32-year-old guy was pulled on the bonnet of a moving vehicle for around 5–6 kilometers, from Mumbai International Airport to Jogeshwari. The victim, Aslam Pathan, reportedly heard the taxi driver yell, “Jump off or I’ll kill you,” during the scary trip. The taxi driver, Bheem Prasad Mahto, has been recognized as the accused. Mahto has received a notification from the police and a formal complaint has been filed. Justin D’Souza, a Kalyan resident and Pathan’s acquaintance, made the complaint.

Pathan told Mid-Day, “I also work as a taxi driver. A parking lot has been set aside by the airport administration for pickups and drops. When my buddy Justin D’Souza attempted to enter the parking lot, I had already parked my vehicle there. Abruptly, Bheem Mahto, another taxi driver, tried to pass him on a tiny road. Mahto started mistreating me, and after parking his vehicle, he hit me over the head with his car key, D’Souza said.

I began to bleed. Aslam, Sibu, and Subhash Pawar, two more taxi drivers, came running to my aid. Then Mahto got into his car and attempted to drive away. He refused to stop when we attempted to stop him. Pathan went on, “I fell on the bonnet after he struck me while I attempted to stop his car. He drove off without stopping, dragging me to the Jogeshwari overpass from the airport. He ignored my repeated pleas for him to stop. He almost missed a cyclist and collided with an autorickshaw and another vehicle while traveling.

Twice, he yelled at me, “Jump off or I’ll kill you.” In terror, I gripped the wipers. I was frightened to death. I just began a new life with my wife after losing my father during COVID. Surviving was all I could think about,” he said in the middle of the day. “A biker riding alongside started recording the incident,” Pathan added. I cried out that I might die and pleaded with him for assistance, insisting that this was no joke. Eventually, the driver stopped at Jogeshwari on the Western Express Highway when he attempted to stop the vehicle.

Mahto was apprehended by Pathan and the motorcyclist, who then transported him to the Jogeshwari police station. They called the police hotline as well. They were diverted to the Airport police station, nevertheless, since that is where the incident started. Mahto said he became alarmed when the victim’s friends gathered, thinking they would assault him, Senior Inspector Madhukar Sanap of the Airport police station said in a midday statement. Even as Pathan clung to the bonnet, he locked the doors and sped away in his terror. He kept driving down the Western Express Highway without stopping.

In accordance with Section 184 of the Motor Vehicles Act and Sections 281, 125, 126(2), 115(2), and 352 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), we have filed a formal complaint. The accused has been handed a notice to appear for an investigation,” Sanap said.