Ahmedabad: Tensions flared at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International (SVPI) Airport on Friday once again after a clash broke out between rickshaw pullers and private security guards employed at the airport.

According to the FIR filed at the Airport Police Station, the incident occurred when the complainant, Mukesh Bhadoriya, along with other rickshaw drivers, was standing at Terminal 2 of the airport to pick up passengers. As per the complaint, security personnel employed with GDX Security approached the group and instructed them not to stand there to pick up passengers. They were told to move back and wait near Pillar No. 25.

When the complainant said he would speak to their superior, the accused security personnel, namely Abhay Gadhvi, Ravi, Avdhesh, and around 10 others, gathered and began arguing and quarreling with the rickshaw drivers.

They allegedly used obscene language and brutally assaulted the drivers using belts, kicks, and fists, causing physical injuries. One of the accused, identified as Kandam, reportedly threatened rickshaw driver Hareshbhai Narandas Sewani by saying, “If it were up to me, I would shoot you.”

As the shouting escalated, nearby people and other rickshaw drivers rushed to the scene and helped rescue the victims from further assault. Several rickshaw drivers sustained blunt injuries. Emergency service 108 was called, and the injured were taken to Civil Hospital for treatment.

Narrating the incident to the media, one rickshaw driver, Dharmendrabhai, said, “I had gone to drop a passenger at the terminal. It took a few minutes longer, and the guard started misbehaving and physically assaulted me. I was just doing my job at the designated drop-off point.”

The rickshaw union condemned the attack and issued a stern warning, demanding immediate action against the security guards. “We operate on registered routes peacefully, yet face daily harassment. The limit of tolerance has been crossed,” said a union leader.

This ruckus between airport security and auto-rickshaw drivers is not the first such incident. Several similar clashes have been reported in the past, where confrontations between security personnel and drivers escalated into police complaints. While the airport’s security management has not yet issued an official statement, the rickshaw drivers have filed a formal complaint with the police, which has booked five identified and other unidentified individuals under Sections 191(2), 189(2), 115(2), 296(b), and 351(3) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).