Two Arrested After JCB Operator Attacked Over Warehouse Dispute in Bhiwandi
Two people have been arrested and remanded in police custody after a 27-year-old JCB operator was intercepted and attacked with an iron rod near Highway Dhaba on the Mumbai-Nashik Highway in Mankoli, Bhiwandi. The assault, linked to a dispute over excavation and earthmoving work at a local warehouse facility, left the operator seriously injured and the machinery vandalised.
The Narpoli police registered a case against Varun Mhatre and three others on charges of assaulting the operator, damaging the equipment, and issuing threats. API Dhanraj Kedar of the Narpoli police station confirmed that two of the accused were produced before a court, which remanded them in police custody till Thursday. Efforts remain underway to locate and arrest the remaining suspects.
According to the police, the victim, Yashwant Maurya, was transporting a JCB machine for Indian Corporation's warehouse facility in Mankoli when four individuals riding a scooter intercepted him. The attackers allegedly struck Maurya with a steel rod and damaged the JCB.
Maurya informed the police that Mhatre had warned him approximately a month earlier against operating a JCB inside the Indian Corporation compound. Despite the warning, Maurya continued to operate the machine under instructions from its owner. Maurya alleged that he had previously been assaulted twice over the same issue, with earlier complaints submitted to the Narpoli police.
Pradeep Naval, CEO of Indian Corporation, stated that the company had previously hired Mhatre for earthmoving machinery work. Naval alleged that Mhatre operated machines for brief periods while pressuring supervisors to log longer hours, causing financial losses to the firm. When the company discovered the issue, it purchased its own JCB and stopped allocating work to Mhatre.
Naval alleged that the attack was an effort to intimidate the company and its staff following the termination of work. He also claimed that company employees were targeted in two prior incidents and that a vehicle belonging to the company owner's brother was damaged during the recent episode.
Police investigations are continuing to determine the exact sequence of events, verify previous complaints, and establish the specific roles of all accused involved in the assault and vandalism.
