Mumbai Mirror

Mumbai, Jul 11: Dr Sanjay Chhadva, a homoeopath from Malad took a lift around 4.45 pm on Monday from Jogeshwari to Borivali. A regular in taking lifts, little did he know that he would be beaten up, robbed and finally thrown off the car near Vasai. The 38-year-old is now recuperating in a Malad hospital with over 20 stab-wounds all over his body.

Recalling the dreadfull experience, Dr Chhadva told Mumbai Mirror that he had gone to Jogeshwari, from where he was to go and see a patient in Borivali. On reaching the Mumbai Ahmedabad National Highway No 8, he flagged down a car. The two occupants readily offered him lift.

When the vehicle neared the Times of India Press, Kandivali, the man in the front seat asked for a halt. He barged into the backseat along with Chhadva and started searching Sanjay’s bag. Then he demanded Rs. 50,000. “Abhi ke abhi paisa humko chahiye nahi toh maar daalenge (We want the money immediately, or else we will kill you),” he threatened.

Pleading for his life, Chhadva asked them to stop at the nearest ATM. But the man pulled out a knife and placed it on Chhadva’s neck.

“I grappled with the attacker and started kicking the two simultaneously, hoping that the driver would lose control of the car and stop. But the driver also pulled out a knife and started to jab my right foot,”said Chhadva, who has been admitted to  Golden Park Hospital, Vasai for treatment. “I was unable to fight, but I could hear the duo saying, “Kill him and we will throw him somewhere,” he adds.

In a hope to save his life, Chhadva pretended to be dead. Being a homoeopath, he knew how to hold his breath for a few seconds.

Convinced, the robbers then dumped him on the car floor. In his subconcious state, he heard the attackers saying that they had gone past the Dahisar toll naka and so they did not have to worry about the police.

Around 7.30 pm the doctor found himself on a remote spot off the highway. “I could hear the vehicles go by. I woke up and saw that I had blood all over. Just then, I heard the rattling of a trailer. I flagged it down. The driver and a few locals helped me.

The locals picked him up near Karnalpada, near Vasaphata off the highway. They then informed inspector Pandarinath Mandre of Manickpur police station who arrived at the spot  with his team and admitted me to the hospital,” Chhadva said.

Chaddva’s brother Dr Nilesh and mother Vimlaben were the first to reach the hospital.

According to Dr Nilesh, the robbers could have seen his brother getting out of a bank in Jogeshwari, where he had deposited Rs 50,000 cash minutes before flagging down the car for a lift to Borivali.

He added that Sanjay has been taking lift from passing motorists for almost a decade and no such incident had occurred before.

The robbers stole two high-end cellphones, a pen-drive, Rs 7,000 cash and other articles, Dr Chhadva reported in his complaint to the police.

The police then registered a case under Section 394 (robbery) of the Indian Penal Code. The case has been transferred to Malad police station and the victim has been admitted in a Malad hospital.