By Savikalpa Thapa
Three people have been arrested by the Pune Police for allegedly assaulting a man and setting his motorbike on fire in the Bharati Vidyapeeth area on Wednesday evening. The incident was caught on video and went viral on social media quickly , sparking discussions on law and order in the city.
According to Pune Police, the complainant and the accused had a dispute over an undisclosed issue. Following the issue, the accused allegedly attacked the complainant. As the victim tried to go to the police station to file a complaint, the accused in an attempt to stop him poured petrol over his motorcycle and set it on fire. The complainant managed to flee from the crime scene and later reported it to the Police.
While initial reports suggested an attempt to set the complainant himself on fire, police later clarified that no such attempt was made. CCTV footage of the entire incident is being investigated. A case has been registered at and the three accused have been booked under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including rioting.
The incident has led to a political controversy, with opposition leaders raising concerns about the deteriorating law and order situation in Pune. Nationalist Congress Party (Sharad Pawar faction) leader and Baramati MP Supriya Sule took to social media platform X to share the video of the incident, calling it another example of growing lawlessness in the city.
In her post, Supriya Sule criticised the police for their alleged inaction, stating that they had received prior information about the dispute but failed to intervene in time. She questioned the efficiency of the Maharashtra Home Ministry, led by Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, and urged the government to take immediate action. “Had police reached the spot in time, this incident could have been averted. This reflects the careless attitude of the home ministry towards law and order. I request the home minister to review the situation in Pune and take immediate corrective steps,” she wrote, tagging Fadnavis in her post.