The 26-year-old woman who suffered severe injuries after the son of a senior bureaucrat allegedly tried to run her over with a car in Thane has said that she was in a relationship with the man for four-and-a-half years and had been told he was divorced.
“For one year, he had hid the fact that he was married. When I found out, he said he had no relationship with the woman and that they were separated and divorced. He said he wanted to stay with me and marry me. We were together for four-and-a-half years,” Priya Singh, who was assaulted by her boyfriend Ashwajit Gaikwad near a hotel on Ghodbunder Road at 4.30 am on Monday, said.
Ashwajit is the son of Anil Gaikwad, the Managing Director of the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation.
Lying on a hospital bed, Ms Singh said Ashwajit called her at 4 am on Monday and she went to meet him at a function, which he was attending with his family and some of their common friends. When she reached the location, she saw him with his wife.
“I had never seen that and I was shocked. I tried to speak to him and asked him to come talk to me privately. He took out his aggression on me. We had an argument,” she said.
Describing the events that followed, the 26-year-old had said, “My boyfriend and his friend used abusive language to which I asked my boyfriend to defend me and not abuse which led to the start of something beyond my imagination. My boyfriend slapped me, tried to strangle my neck, I tried to push him away he bit my hand, beat me, pulled my hair, and his friend out of nowhere pushed me to the ground”.
She alleged that when she reached into Ashwajit’s car to collect her belongings, he asked his driver to run her over.
“Three bones were broken in my right leg. A surgery was done and a rod has been inserted in the leg. On the left side of my body, I have suffered deep injuries from my shoulder to my hips. I can’t move my body. I had registered a complaint on the day of the incident itself and a case has now been filed,” Ms Singh said.
Ashwajit has been charged under sections related to causing hurt and rash driving, among others, of the Indian Penal Code.
In an Instagram post, Ms Singh wrote, “I’m really terrified. I’m very scared for my family and myself. I don’t feel safe. I have lost all faith in humanity. I don’t know if my life is ever going to be normal.”
