Following traffic norms cost a surgeon dear on West of Chord Road on Monday. The doctor’s little finger was fractured and his car was vandalised by a cab driver. Dr Sujit Betageri (37), was assaulted for stopping and waiting at a traffic red light.

Dr Betageri, a general surgeon at the ESI Hospital, Rajajinagar, is now unable to perform his work due to the fracture he sustained.

Dr Betageri had stopped his car near the Giriyas signal along the West of Chord Road when an SUV approached from behind and started honking. As it was a red signal, the doctor pointed to the traffic lights to indicate to the SUV’s driver it was a no go.

Enraged by this, the cab driver then followed the doctor from the signal, overtook and waylaid the car. He hurled abuses at the surgeon and did not give a chance for the doctor to explain himself. The cab driver caught hold of the doctor’s neck and pushed him onto his car, vandalising the vehicle further on.

"The surgeon’s right little finger was fractured and his car had multiple dents,” said a senior police officer. Panicked family members shouted for help, drawing a few passersby.

Sensing trouble, the cab driver sped away threatening the doctor with dire consequences. Dr Betageri was rushed to a hospital.

A complaint was filed at the Basaveshwara Nagar police station subsequently. The police have taken up a case against the driver and have booked him for assault, wrongful restraint and criminal intimidation, and are yet to nab him.