Youth’s death after assault sparks tension in Thane; stones pelted at corporator’s office
Family alleges corporator protected accused; 5 suspects detained as police step up security in Ambernath
Tension erupted at Ambernath in Maharashtra’s Thane district after a 21-year-old man died following an assault over an alleged love affair, with his relatives and locals hurling stones at a corporator’s office, accusing her of shielding those involved.
The corporator has denied the allegations.
According to the police, tension gripped the Palegaon area of Ambernath East on Wednesday after Om Khore, who was severely beaten by five to seven individuals on June 23, succumbed to his injuries at Mumbai’s KEM Hospital.
Khore was allegedly attacked because the uncle of a young woman suspected him of having a romantic relationship with his niece, they said.
The Shivajinagar police in Ambernath originally registered a case against three persons and arrested two of them.
However, as news of Khore’s death spread on Wednesday, his family members, relatives and hundreds of angry locals marched towards the police station. En route, some of them pelted stones and vandalised the office of a corporator of a national party in Palegaon.
The relatives alleged that the corporator had shielded the accused and helped them evade action.
The corporator has rejected the allegations of involvement or aiding the culprits and has demanded strict police action against those who attacked her office.
After reaching the police station, Khore’s family members refused to claim or move the youth’s body until all individuals involved were arrested. The victim’s relatives claimed they had initially provided the police with seven names, but action was taken against five.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Sachin Gore said five accused persons, identified as Sandip Gawli, Ravi Parmar, Nayan Madvi, Sachin Patil and Raj Desekar, had been taken into custody and efforts were being made to track down the others.
Additional police personnel have been deployed in the area to maintain law and order, said officials, adding that the probe into the matter was underway.
