A dispute over using water to wash a vehicle during ongoing shortages turned violent at a housing society in Charholi, Pune, on Tuesday morning, leaving seven people injured and prompting Alandi police to register two cross-complaints.
The incident took place at around 10.30am on the society premises, where a 46-year-old autorickshaw driver was washing his vehicle. Police said society members alleged that he had connected a pipe to the housing society’s common borewell for the washing.
Sub-inspector Ajit Kakade of Alandi police said residents had objected because the society was implementing water-saving measures amid a shortage. A message had also been posted in the society’s mobile messaging group asking residents not to use water pipes to wash vehicles.
According to the complaint filed by a 33-year-old private company employee, the autorickshaw driver and his family members allegedly abused him after he asked the driver to use a bucket instead of a pipe. The society member further alleged that the driver and his family assaulted him and two other residents with a bucket.
The autorickshaw driver filed a separate complaint, giving a different account of the confrontation. He claimed that he had been washing his vehicle with a bucket when five society members abused him, his wife and two sons. He alleged that the members assaulted him and his family with a bucket.
Police said the driver’s wife and son were allegedly prevented from leaving the society premises when members locked the main gate as they were travelling to the police station. The competing complaints mean that the accounts of the confrontation remain disputed while the investigation continues.
The case highlights how water shortages can turn routine housing-society rules into disputes over access to a shared resource. In this incident, the disagreement involved the use of a common borewell, a vehicle-washing practice and the enforcement of water-saving instructions within a private residential complex.
Alandi police registered separate cases under Sections 118, 189, 190 and 191 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Section 118 concerns voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means, while the other sections cited by police relate to unlawful assembly and rioting. Sub-inspector Kakade said the investigation was under way.
