Thane: Four people were arrested on Friday for allegedly killing a 43-year-old man in a brawl over drinking liquor. The fifth accused, who also suffered injuries, has been admitted to Thane civil hospital, the police said.
The accused have been identified as Jagdish Narhire, the prime accused, Vaibhav Jagtap, Ajay Dhotre, Rakesh Hagragi, and Pradeep Chavan. Narhire will be taken into custody after his release from the hospital.
Police Inspector Mahadev Kumbhar of Vartak Nagar police station said, “With the help of technical intelligence, CDR and local informers, we arrested the four accused. They all were produced in court and remanded into police custody till December 13.”
The incident took place in the Bhimnagar area in Vartak Nagar, Thane, on Thursday night.
According to the police, a fortnight ago Jagtap and his friends were drinking alcohol near the Durga temple in Bhimnagar when the deceased – Deepak Nirbhavne – his brother Prashant and friend Vilas Pawar asked them to leave the place. They had a heated argument, and a fight broke out before the local residents gathered and separated them.
On Thursday, Jagtap and his friends were seated at the same location around 9.30 pm when Nirbhavne along with the two came there. It again led to a quarrel and an altercation during which Narhire stabbed Nirbhavne with a knife in the chest. He also attacked Prashant and Pawar with the knife and an iron rod and the group fled the spot.
The local residents alerted the local police and took Nirbhavne to the Kalwa hospital where he was declared dead after admission while Prashant and Vilas were being treated for head injuries and stab wounds.
A case was registered under the Indian Penal Code sections for murder, attempt to murder, and, rioting.
Narhire has two criminal cases against him in Thane, while Dhotre also has a theft case registered against him at Kapurbawdi police station, the police said.