Overview
- An FIR names Bipasha alias Akash Manikam, Hemant Gaikwad, and Viraj Sole after a March 6 interception of a buffalo-transport truck near Ambegaon on the Mumbai–Bengaluru Highway.
- Police say the 18-year-old truck helper was assaulted, abused over his religion, and forced to eat dung, with the assault recorded on video now under examination.
- Two accused — Manikam and Gaikwad — have been arrested and remanded to police custody until March 10 as investigators pursue additional suspects.
- Offences were registered under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Sections 196, 299, 352, 115(2), and 3(5) following an initial non-cognisable entry that the victim said he limited out of fear.
- After document checks, the truck driver was booked under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, while the vehicle was released and the main assault probe continues.