20 December,2025 06:21 PM IST | Mumbai | Aishwarya Iyer
The incident was captured in a video which has gone viral on social media. Pic/Screengrab of viral video
BJP MLA Parag Shah, the sitting legislator in Mumbai, was allegedly involved in an altercation with an auto-rickshaw driver in the Ghatkopar area on Friday, during which he slapped the driver.
The incident was captured in a video which has gone viral on social media.
The incident took place in the afternoon on Mahatma Gandhi Road. A video of the episode surfaced online, showing Shah stopping an auto-rickshaw that was allegedly being driven in the wrong direction and slapping the driver during the confrontation. The clip has since circulated widely on social media.
Parag Shah is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party and has represented Ghatkopar East in the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly since 2019. He previously served as a corporator in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
An official said that so far no FIR or formal complaint has been received in connection with the incident, as Mumbai Police are yet to determine the exact jurisdiction where it took place.
Officials from the Ghatkopar and Pant Nagar police stations said that the location of the incident does not fall under their jurisdiction.
Meanwhile, Tilak Nagar police said they are verifying whether the spot comes under their limits.
Meanwhile, Congress leader Varsha Gaikwad on Saturday strongly criticised the BJP after a video allegedly showing BJP MLA Parag Shah slapping an auto-rickshaw driver in Ghatkopar went viral on social media.
In a post on X, Gaikwad accused BJP legislators of misusing power and targeting the poor. She said BJP MLAs had become so arrogant that they were now assaulting auto-rickshaw drivers on the road.
Referring to the Ghatkopar incident, Varsha Gaikwad said the MLA allegedly attacked the driver for violating traffic rules. She claimed that BJP leaders take the law into their own hands because they feel protected by those in power.
Gaikwad further alleged that the BJP favours big industrialists and contractors, while showing harshness towards poor and working-class citizens.
"This is the real BJP," she wrote, claiming the party rolls out the red carpet for wealthy business interests but takes pride in beating poor and hardworking people.
