3 min readMar 26, 2026 02:21 PM IST
A software engineer was killed after being run over by a vehicle during a dispute over the use of a penthouse as an Airbnb rental in Indore late Wednesday night, police said.
The incident took place around 10:30 pm in the Lasudia police station area, at the Shiv Vatika Township on MR-11. The deceased, Shampa Pandey, had recently moved into the apartment with her husband and two children on March 13. Police have registered a murder case and arrested the accused, Mohit Chaudhary, along with his father, Kuldeep Chaudhary.
According to the police station in-charge, Taresh Soni, the dispute stemmed from objections raised by residents over the operation of an Airbnb in a residential building. Kuldeep Chaudhary had allegedly rented out his penthouse on Airbnb, resulting in a regular influx of unfamiliar visitors. Residents had repeatedly raised concerns about safety and disturbance.
On Wednesday night, tensions escalated when some residents allegedly switched off the electricity supply to the penthouse. In response, Kuldeep came downstairs and reportedly cut power to other flats, triggering a confrontation that soon turned violent.
During the altercation, Mohit allegedly drove a car into the crowd at high speed. He allegedly hit a woman employee living in the building and then struck Shampa Pandey. She was rushed to Bombay Hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries. The entire incident was captured on CCTV cameras installed in the building, and police have seized the DVR for investigation.
Shampa’s husband, Saurabh Pandey, who is originally from Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh, alleged that the accused could have stopped the vehicle but chose not to. “He first hit another woman and then drove towards me. I somehow escaped, but he ran over my wife. He didn’t stop even after hitting her and rammed the car into a wall. My wife suffered severe head injuries and fell. After that, he drove over her again,” he alleged.
The family had recently purchased the flat and moved to the township. They have two children, aged 7 and 10, and have been living in Indore for the past few years.
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Residents claim that the penthouse was not part of the original building plan and that they were not informed about its existence at the time of purchase. They also alleged that frequent late-night activity, including visitors arriving until early morning hours, had been a recurring issue. Complaints had been raised earlier, and meetings were held over the weekend, but no resolution was reached, they claimed.
Society president Gaurav Naik said the penthouse was “illegal” and added that the township houses nearly 3,000 residents. He also pointed to ongoing disputes with the builder over development issues and the lack of basic amenities.
Police said they are also investigating the identities of visitors who had been accessing the property through Airbnb and examining whether any regulations were violated.
