BENGALURU: A father and son have been accused of assaulting a 32-year-old man and dragging him for more than 250 metres hanging by their car, over a payment issue. The man, Jeethesh Kumar, runs a mobile phone service centre, ‘Gadgets Pro’, in Garudacharpalya. Kumar told The New Indian Express that Shreehari Bohra, said to be a research scholar at a private research university in the US, had given his mobile phone for repairs on April 26, and the bill came up to Rs 12,000.
“I had shared my e-wallet details to make the payment. However, on April 29, he made an online payment of Rs 11,300 to the bank account number mentioned in the bill, without consulting me. As there was a dispute over some payments in this account, I did not receive the money. I requested them to give me a day so I could check with the bank, and return the phone,” Kumar said.The same evening, Bohra’s mother reportedly called Kumar and offered to pay Rs 12,000 in cash, as they needed the phone immediately for Bohra to attend online classes.
“She said I could return the money if the online payment was successful, and I agreed. On April 30, Bohra told me he will pay cash and asked me to bring the phone near Phoenix Marketcity. When I reached there around 12.30 pm, Bohra and his father were there in a red Mercedes-Benz -- Bohra was in the driver’s seat and his father was in the co-driver’s seat. I was standing on the footpath and talking to his father when he yelled at me and abused me. He snatched the phone from my hand, but when I held on to it, he caught hold of my right hand and told his son to move the car. While Bohra drove, his father dragged me sitting inside the car for about 250 metres, then my right leg struck an electric pole on the pavement and I fell,” Kumar narrated.Father and son fled the scene, and a bruised and battered Kumar filed a police complaint in the evening.