Maharashtra Cong vice president dies after being stabbed at mosque in Akola

The killing comes amid a series of attacks on political figures in Maharashtra during the ongoing municipal and local body elections, raising concerns over political violence during the campaign period

NAGPUR: Maharashtra Congress vice president Hidayatullah Barakatullah Patel, who was stabbed near a mosque in Akot town in Akola district on Tuesday, succumbed to his injuries on Wednesday morning while undergoing treatment at a private hospital.

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The killing comes amid a series of attacks on political figures in Maharashtra during the ongoing municipal and local body elections, raising concerns over political violence during the campaign period.

According to the police, the 66-year-old Patel was attacked around 2 pm on Tuesday, shortly after offering namaaz at the Jama Masjid in Mohala village, Akot. The assailant allegedly used a sharp weapon to stab him multiple times in the neck and abdomen, inflicting grievous injuries that caused profuse bleeding. The attack is believed to have stemmed from an old enmity and political rivalry, police said.

Despite being critically injured, Patel managed to walk out of the mosque before collapsing outside, triggering panic in the locality. Shocking videos that later surfaced online showed him staggering with his clothes soaked in blood. Local residents immediately rushed him to a private hospital in Akot, where he was admitted to the intensive care unit.

As his condition deteriorated during the day, a green corridor was created to shift him to Akola city for advanced treatment. During treatment, Patel reportedly suffered a minor heart attack and passed away early Wednesday morning, a police officer said.

Following the incident, police teams arrived at the scene and collected evidence with the assistance of forensic experts. Six teams were formed to trace the attacker. The accused, identified as Ubed Khan Kalu Khan alias Razik Khan Patel, 25, was arrested on Tuesday evening from Panaj village in Akot taluka.

Akola Superintendent of Police Archit Chandak said preliminary investigations indicated that the murder was the result of an old dispute and political rivalry. The accused, who belongs to the same community and is a local Congress leader, was identified through CCTV footage captured near the crime scene.

During initial interrogation, Ubed allegedly told the police that Patel was responsible for the murder of his uncle, Mateen Patel, in 2019 and had also hindered his family’s progress, leading to long-standing animosity between the two families. Police said the accused fled into a nearby forest after the attack, prompting a large-scale manhunt involving nearly 40 personnel.

In the aftermath of the killing, security has been tightened in Mohala and Akot town. A case has been registered by the Akot rural police, and further investigation is underway.

The incident is the latest in a series of attacks on political figures in Maharashtra during the ongoing municipal and local body elections. On Wednesday, Haji Salim Qureshi, a Shiv Sena candidate for the upcoming Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation elections, was stabbed in the stomach while conducting a door-to-door campaign in Bandra East, Mumbai. He survived the attack and is being treated in a hospital.

On December 26, Mangesh Kalokhe, a former councillor and husband of newly elected Shiv Sena councillor Manasi Kalokhe, was hacked to death while he was returning home on his bike after dropping his daughters off at school in the morning.

Hidayatullah Patel was a well-known Congress leader in the Akola district. He had contested the Lok Sabha elections in 2014 and 2019 as a Congress candidate but lost on both occasions. In the 2019 elections, he finished third, while in 2014, he was a key rival of BJP candidate Sanjay Dhotre.