Meanwhile, DCP B Devaraj confirmed on Monday, 21 April, that an FIR had been registered against Vikas Kumar on the basis of the IAF officer couple’s complaint, and that he has been arrested.
Published Apr 22, 2025 | 10:59 AM ⚊ Updated Apr 22, 2025 | 12:31 PM
IAF officer assaulting the biker. (Screengrab)
Synopsis: The Bengaluru road rage case took a turn after CCTV footage contradicted IAF Wing Commander Shiladitya Bose’s claim of being attacked due to language bias. Instead, visuals showed him assaulting biker Vikas Kumar, leading to his booking for attempt to murder.
A day after the biker identified as Vikas Kumar was arrested by the Benagluru police in the road rage incident, the IAF officer, Wing Commander Shiladitya Bose, has also been booked by the police for attempt to murder.
The Bengaluru road rage case, initially misled by the officer in a self-recorded video as an alleged anti-defence forces and language sentiment in Karnataka, took a new turn after CCTV footage emerged. The visuals showed Indian Air Force officer assaulting a biker, later identified as call centre employee Vikas Kumar.
The FIR was registered by the Byappanahalli Police based on a complaint filed by the injured biker. The FIR includes the following charges, Sections 109 (attempt to murder), 115(2) (attempt to commit an offence punishable with death or imprisonment for life), 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means), and 352 (assault or use of criminal force otherwise than on grave provocation), under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
It may be noted that the FIR against the IAF officer was registered only after CCTV footage of him assaulting a civilian surfaced. Complaint from Kumar was acknowledged and a case filed only after public outrage and continuous follow ups from pro-Kannada groups.
Meanwhile, DCP B Devaraj confirmed on Monday, 21 April, that an FIR had been registered against Vikas Kumar, and that he has been arrested.
On Monday, Wing Commander Shiladtiya Bose and his wife Madhumita, a squadron leader with the Defence Research and Development Organisation, alleged that they were attacked by locals while driving in the Baiyappanahalli police station limits at around 6.20am.
In one of his posts Bose claimed he was assaulted by a man speaking in Kannada, threatening over language and because his car bore a DRDO sticker. He said he ‘chose not to retaliate.’
Deputy Commissioner of Police (East) B Devaraj said the altercation began when Madhumita objected to the bike rider, who then approached Bose to ask what she was saying.
“Therefore, I was driving and looked at him. He crossed our car and we moved ahead. However, he turned the bike and from the front window, he started abusing me and hit my husband continuously. He banged our car with leg and stone. We got down and tried to stop him. But he was unstoppable and hit my husband with a stone on his head,” Madhumita’s complaint states.
She further alleged: “Thereafter, I told my husband to sit in the car. But the unknown person came again from the back and dragged him on the road. The locals were speaking Kannada and thrashed my husband on the road. The mob was hitting us. I somehow pulled my husband out and put him in the car. He was bleeding on head and face.”
However, contrary to the couple’s claims, in the CCTV footage, Bose is seen assaulting Vikas Kumar. Locals are seen attempting to intervene and separate Bose from Kumar, even as the officer continues to hit him.
The footage shows the highly trained officer holding Kumar in a chokehold, pushing him on the ground and repeatedly kicking him.
Later on Monday, DCP Devraj, speaking to media refuted that the incident was related to language issue, “This is not a case related to any language or reason. This is very clear from the facts and evidence collected from the morning. It is a clear-cut case of road rage, which is very common in Bengaluru. Both of them could have avoided this. When this altercation was taking place, 6-7 youngsters tried to separate the two people and stop the fight. They tried their level best to pacify both of them… When the lady officer, Madhumita Das, was driving, this guy was coming from the opposite direction… This was the root cause… Then the officer got out of the car, and both of them had a fight.”
#WATCH | Karnataka | IAF Wing Commander Shiladitya Bose and his wife Squadron Leader Madhumita Das allegedly assaulted in a road rage incident in Bengaluru | D Devaraj, DCP East Bengaluru, says, “… This is not a case related to any language or reason. This is very clear from… pic.twitter.com/gJeDZgFtcK
— ANI (@ANI) April 21, 2025
(Edited by Sumavarsha, with inputs from Nolan Patrick Pinto)
