Ahmedabad: A rickshaw driver has filed a police complaint against security guards at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International (SVPI) Airport, alleging assault and threats. The driver,  Mohsin Yusufbhai Malvat (29), has stated in complaint that he was attacked by security personnel while waiting for a ride request near the Sardar Patel statue on airport road on Sunday afternoon.

According to the complaint filed at the Airport Police Station, the driver, who operates for Ola and Uber, stated that after dropping off a passenger at the domestic airport around 3:00 PM, he parked briefly to coordinate his next ride while speaking to the passenger over a phone call.  He was reportedly asking the passenger to come outside near the Sardar Patel statue to escape the charges imposed by Adani levied on pick up. A security guard allegedly struck his rickshaw’s hood, verbally abused him, and assaulted him when he objected.

During the altercation, two more guards reportedly restrained the driver, while one of them, identified as Ajaysinh Ramsinh Rajput, kicked him in the ribs and threatened him, saying, “Leave this place, or I will break your head.” The injured driver had to be taken for medical treatment in 108 emergency ambulance. The Rickshaw union members helped him and alleged that one of the security guards who kicked the victim brutally was wearing steel plated shoes, because of which the victim suffered internal injuries when he was on holy fast (Roja), as Ramadan is on.

The Airport Police have registered the complaint and launched an investigation, booking three individuals, including Ajaysinh Rajput, under sections 115(2), 296(b), 351(2), and 54 of the Bharatiya Nyay Sanhita.

Meanwhile, Ahmedabad Ekta Union members condemned the incident, stating that rickshaw drivers have been facing harassment at the airport for days. “If a rickshaw driver bringing passengers through Ola, Uber, or Rapido is delayed by even five minutes, security personnel immediately confront him. The driver has suffered rib injuries, and though we have filed a police complaint, only one of the three accused security staffers has been detained. We demand the arrest of all three, or we will escalate our protest,” a union representative said. DeshGujarat