Two held after 18-year-old auto driver is killed in Vashi fare dispute

Sujankumar Mahato, 18, had quoted ₹140 for a ride from near Koparkhairane railway station to Mankhurd when an argument began over the passengers offering ₹100, police said.

Mahato, who lived in Ghansoli, had left home with his rickshaw on Friday evening. At about 3.36am on August 29, the two passengers allegedly boarded near Koparkhairane station. Police said the dispute continued after the rickshaw reached the Hanuman Temple area in Sector 5, where the men allegedly threatened Mahato with a sharp weapon and made him keep driving.

Near Mini Seashore Garden, close to Fortis Hospital in Vashi, Mahato received a call from another prospective passenger and asked the pair to get out, police said. A further argument followed and he was allegedly attacked on the neck, head and hands. Police said he died at the spot and the men fled with his rickshaw.

A morning walker who saw the attack described the men’s clothing. Crime Branch and Vashi police used that account, CCTV footage and other leads to trace and arrest Sahil Ananda Surve and Sahil Yashwant Kharat, both 20, from Mankhurd on Monday.