This is a real incident that happened near Lonavala in Maharashtra recently, though it sounds like something out of the X Files or from Alfred Hitchcock Presents.

A guy drives from Mumbai to Pune and decides not to take the new expressway as he wants to see the scenery. The inevitable happens and when he reaches the ghats his car breaks down – he’s stranded miles from nowhere.

Having no choice he starts walking on the side of the road, hoping to get a lift to the nearest human habitation. It’s dark and raining and pretty soon he’s wet and shivering. The night rolls on and no car goes by, the monsoon rains are so strong he can hardly see a few feet ahead.

Suddenly, he sees a car coming towards him. It slows and then stops next to him – without thinking the guy opens the car’s door and jumps in. Seated in the back, he leans forward to thank the person who had saved him when he realizes there is nobody behind the wheel!

Even though there’s no one in the front seat and no sound of any engine, the car starts moving slowly. The guy looks at the road ahead and sees a curve coming (remember, this is in the hills and there is a steep drop beyond the curve)

Scared almost to death he starts to pray, begging the Lord to save his life.

He hasn’t come out of shock, when just before he hits the curve, a hand appears through the window and moves the wheel. The car makes the curve safely and continues on the road to the next bend. The guy, now paralysed with terror watches how the hand appears every time they are before a curve and moves as the steering wheel just enough to get the car around each bend.

Finally, the guy sees lights ahead. Gathering his courage he wrenches open the door of the silent car, scrambles out and runs as hard as he can towards the lights. It’s a small town. Wet and in shock goes to a roadside dhabba and asks for a drink. They find some hooch and give him a shot. And he starts telling whoever is in the dhabba about the horrible experience he’s just been through.

A silence envelopes everybody when they realize the guy isn’t drunk, and is really frightened – he’s crying and shaking. So they give him more hooch and talk about what they should do – whether to call the police or find a priest.

But just then two guys, Santa and Banta, walk into the dhabba. And then Santa says, "Look, Banta – that’s the jerk that got in the car when we were pushing it"