The police in Maharashtra’s Sangli said Thursday they have arrested four men for allegedly hacking the leader of a Dalit outfit to death soon after his birthday celebrations outside his house.
The Sangli police have identified the deceased as Uttam Jinappa Mohite, 37, the president of Dalit Mahasangh (Mohite Group), and a resident of Garpir Chowk in the city.
They said one of the assailants, identified as Shahrukh Rafiq Shaikh, 21, who was mistakenly attacked by his aides, also died in the incident.
Inspector Arun Sugaokar, Sangli City Police Station, said they registered a case against eight assailants, of whom four have been arrested, and a search is on for others. “A probe has revealed that a minor dispute over having food at Mohite’s birthday celebration led to the murder. Further investigation is on,” said Sugaokar.
Meanwhile, a video captured by the CCTV camera installed around the crime scene went viral. The police said they are examining the CCTV footage to identify the men involved in the double murder.
According to the police, the quarrel allegedly broke out between Mohite and a person identified as Ganesh More during the birthday celebration, which was held on a stage set up near his residence, Tuesday evening. Mohite’s family member intervened and stopped the quarrel.
Around midnight, More allegedly returned with his aides, armed with sharp weapons, and attacked Mohite brutally on the stage, said an officer.
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“Mohite ran inside his house to save himself. But the assailants chased him and attacked him multiple times with the weapons, leaving him in a pool of blood. The assailants also attacked his nephew, Yogesh Mohite, who intervened to resist them. Yogesh was injured in the incident,” said the officer.
The police said that during the chaos, Shaikh was mistakenly stabbed by one of his aides with a knife, leaving him critically injured.
A police team that rushed to the spot shifted Mohite and Shaikh to a hospital. Mohite was pronounced “dead on arrival”, and Shaikh succumbed to his injuries Wednesday morning, the police said.
According to the police, Mohite was previously booked in nine cases, and Shaikh is a history-sheeter having five criminal cases against him in Sangli.
