Two murders reported from city over 12 hrs

Eight, including four minors, arrested for killing an entrepreneur; in the second case, accused is unknown

In two separate murders that took place within 12 hours between Monday and Tuesday, a catering business owner from Yerawada was brutally murdered by eight people, including four minors. Cops have claimed that the accused have been taken into custody. In the second incident, a man was killed in Hadapsar. No arrest has been made in this case so far.

In the Yerawada case, the deceased has been identified as Pratik Vanhale. On Monday afternoon, he entered into a dispute with the eight accused over a minor issue. The heated spat did not go well with the eight murderers, who killed him on the mental hospital ground around 8 pm. Locals reported the incident to the cops, who took Pratik’s body to Sassoon General Hospitals for post-mortem. The accused had fled the scene before the cops arrived.

The murder immediately unleashed a strong demand for justice. On Tuesday morning, the family of the deceased agitated, asking the cops to hand over the accused to them so that they could be paraded in the vasti.

Bhimraj Vanhale, Pratik’s uncle, said, “The police are trying to save the accused, claiming the minors have to be shielded. We are sure that the murderous lot has adults who need to be prosecuted.”

Pratik’s brother, Pankaj, echoed the sentiment. He said that his brother, who would keep himself busy with the catering business, was brutally murdered and thus, the accused need to be handed over to the public. “We want to know from the police why my brother was murdered,” he said.

According to information given by deputy commissioner of police (zone IV) Pankaj Deshmukh, the deceased’s family, relatives and social workers gathered with their demands on Tuesday. “We convinced them that the accused have been arrested,” he said.

Crime inspector Ajay Waghmare said all the accused have been taken into custody and charged under sections 302 (murder), 143, 144 (unlawful assembly), 147, 148 (rioting), 188 (disobedience to order duly promulgated by public servant), 269 (negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life) and 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) of Indian Penal Code and the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897.

In the second case, at 8 am on Tuesday, 23-year-old Basavaraj Kamble was stabbed in his head in Hadapsar. The murder was brought to cops’ notice by local citizens. Ajit Kamble, 20, has lodged a complaint in this case.

Basavaraj had gone to drop his mother on a bike to Fatima Nagar for work. While returning, he was murdered by an unknown person near the crematorium in Ganga Nagar. Inspector Ramesh Sathe said that the officials are investigating the matter with the unknown accused being charged under section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code.