"Only verbal altercation, no brandishing of gun": Joseph Fernandes tells his side of story in road rage case involving Farhan Azmi

Calangute (Goa) [India], March 5 (ANI): Amid chaos over FIR against Farhan Azmi, son of Samajdwadi Party (SP) leader Abu Azmi in a road rage case, Joseph Fernandes, one of the accused, on Wednesday clarified that there was only a "verbal altercation" between his son Zeon Fernandes and Azmi.
He refuted the claims made by the media, saying that Farhan did not "brandish the gun" but threatened his son while saying that "he was carrying a pistol in the car."
"We had a verbal altercation, and that's it. No fights, slaps, and as the media put it, he did not brandish the gun," Fernandes told ANI.
"My demand is that the media should stop reporting all these false allegations. We did not register a complaint because the (conflict) was resolved as we compromised. But I want to say that it was his (Farhan's) fault because he came and tried to revive the issue," he added.
Narrating his side of the story, Fernandes said that the "slight altercation" happened when his son was returning from the Mapusa carnival on a motorcycle, where their entire family was present. He added that a Black SUV turned left without giving the indicator, which could have caused an accident.
"I was shocked by the sensational news. These are all false allegations. I will tell you my side of the story. We had gone to the Mapusa carnival... There was a slight altercation while my son was returning from there on a motorcycle as a Black SUV turned left without giving the indicator. He (Zeon Fernandes) was about to dash into the car, but he timely applied breaks," Fernandes said.
As this happened, he stated that his son hit the side mirror of Farhan Azmi's vehicle and moved on. However, he added, there was a verbal altercation later, after which Azmi threatened his son, saying that he had a pistol in the car.
"My son asked Abu Farhan why he didn't give an indicator while turning his car. In anger, my son hit the side mirror and moved on, thinking the issue was over. Later, there was a verbal altercation... Abu Farhan threatened my son, saying that he was carrying a pistol in the car. I want to state that he (Farhan) didn't brandish his gun. There was nothing like that. There was no brawl created. It was only a verbal altercation," Fernandes asserted.
The Goa police on Tuesday filed a case against Maharashtra SP MLA Abu Azmi's son Farhan Azmi and others for indulging in a fight at a public place in the state and disturbing the peace, officials said.
"We received a call that there was some fight between two parties at Candolim near Newton's... One person who was driving a Maharashtra registration vehicle had an altercation with some locals," Police Inspector Paresh Naik told ANI.
He further said that a case has been registered against Abu Farhan Azmi, Zeon Fernandes, Joseph Fernandes, Shaan, and others under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
"The case was of road rage, and there was a commotion. The road was blocked for around 15 to 20 minutes. The police brought both parties to the police station. They refused to register a complaint against each other, saying that they had compromised amongst themselves... But because there was a nuisance created on the road and it was blocked for around 30 minutes..., we registered a case on behalf of the state against all the involved persons...which includes Faran Abu Azmi and his driver (Shaan)," he added.
The Police Inspector said that they have registered an FIR and issued notices under 35 of the BNS. (ANI)