Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: A father and his son were murdered in Ekta Nagar, Ranjangaon Shenpunji, late Monday night following a long-standing dispute. The deceased have been identified as Babasaheb Ramdas Kirtikar (43) and his son Nihal Kirtikar (18). Two other sons, Sahil Kirtikar (17) and Kunal Kirtikar (19), sustained injuries in the attack. The MIDC Waluj police acted swiftly and took five suspects into custody.
A dispute had arisen between the Kirtikar and Gaychand families a few days earlier over a trivial matter. Around 12.30 am on Monday, while Sahil was heading towards a site where a goddess idol had been installed for the Navratri festival near Shubham Colony, an altercation broke out after the suspects looked at him aggressively.
As Sahil was returning home, Rajendra Gaychand and his son Nagesh assaulted him with a wooden club. Hearing Sahil's cries for help, his father Babasaheb and brothers Nihal and Kunal rushed to the scene.
Mayur Gaychand also arrived at the scene. Nagesh's mother, Shano, brought a knife from the house and handed it to him. Nagesh then attacked Nihal and Babasaheb with the knife, causing both to collapse.
Prakash Pagare and Pravin Katare took the injured Nihal on a two-wheeler to a private hospital at Pratap Chowk. He was subsequently shifted to Ghati Hospital by ambulance. Meanwhile, Babasaheb, Sahil and Kunal were also brought to Ghati Hospital for treatment. However, doctors declared Babasaheb and Nihal dead upon examination. Sahil and Kunal received medical treatment.
The police apprehended all five suspects near the railway station as they were preparing to flee to their native village in Haryana. Those taken into custody were Rajendra Chandgiram Gaychand (54), Shannu alias Shano Rajendra Gaychand (53), Mansi Rajendra Gaychand (21), Manoj Rajendra Gaychand (20) and Nagesh Rajendra Gaychand (19), all residents of Krishnanagar.
A team led by Police Sub-Inspector Sagar Patil, comprising Police Sub-Inspectors Salim Shaikh and Sanjay Jagtap, along with Police Head Constables Jalinder Randhe, Yogesh Shelke, Suraj Agrawal, Samadhan Patil, Nitin Iname, Prakash Wagh, Raju Wagh, Vaibhav Gaikwad, Sachin Thokal and Deepak Jadhav, apprehended the suspects.
The police produced all five suspects before a court, which remanded them to police custody until Oct 23.
The MIDC Waluj police are conducting further investigations.
