CRIME MOST FOUL
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: Vaijapur police have filed an FIR against 26 people for allegedly abducting a 24-year-old man from his home, tying him to a tree, and torturing him over an old rivalry between two Ganesh mandals.
Police identified the victim as Rohit Anil Pathare and said the FIR was registered on a complaint filed by his wife. “He was subjected to brutal torture using multiple weapons,” police said. He later died from severe injuries while being treated at a hospital in Shirdi late Tuesday night.
Around 26 men allegedly dragged Pathare from his house on Oct 31 and took him to an agricultural field in Rotegaon, according to the FIR. In a dramatic turn, the victim’s mother allegedly attempted self-immolation at the police station around 2.30am on Wednesday by pouring petrol on herself. The Vaijapur police have registered offences including murder, rioting and unlawful assembly against 26 suspects and are probing the killing’s links to the Ganesh mandal rivalry.
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The attackers allegedly crushed his legs with stones and stabbed him with a screwdriver, leaving him critically injured,” an officer said, citing the FIR. Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar Rural superintendent of police Prakash Jadhav said, “The murder stemmed from a long-running feud between members of two Ganesh mandals that began during this year’s Ganeshotsav. “There, they tied him to a tree and assaulted him with swords, iron rods and axes. His death triggered outrage among relatives and residents, who gathered outside Vaijapur police station demanding immediate arrests. Police and locals intervened and prevented the attempt. Protesters later blocked Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar-Nashik highway for nearly three hours, demanding swift action against all those named in the case. Download the TOI App.
Pathare was rushed to a hospital in Shirdi, where he succumbed to his injuries around 11pm on Tuesday.