Sonali Joshi Pitale (MID-DAY; May 15, 2014)

On Tuesday morning, TV actor Vije Bhatia — best known as Bharat in the show, Ramayan — was apparently beaten up by a guy named Prasad and his cohorts. It seems that around a month ago, Bhatia’s car had bumped into Prasad’s and an altercation ensued. The actor recollects that while no one was injured, both their cars had scratches. “I was willing to pay for the damage. I even called a mechanic to the spot. But this guy, who identifies himself as Prasad, insisted that I pay for the entire car paint. I told him I couldn’t do so as my car was also damaged and it was not just my fault.”

On Tuesday, after he dropped his actor friend Gurmeet Chaudhary in Goregaon, Bhatia claims that his path was blocked by a car. “I saw Prasad and two other men get out of the car; they asked me to cough up Rs 8,000 as damages and I told them about my money issues. But they started abusing me. The fight got ugly and they hit me hard,” says Bhatia.

The actor says that he then narrated the incident to Gurmeet, who insisted that they file a complaint. “The police registered a non cognizable offence against Prasad, and after giving him a warning, they let him go. I am much relaxed now as I don’t think he will attack me again,” he says.

Prasad remained unavailable for comment.