Shiv Sena vibhag pramukh, 2 others arrested for killing teen in Bhiwandi

Bhiwandi: 3 arrested, including Shiv Sena leader, in connection with assault leading to death of 16-year-old college student. Total 6 arrests made.

Bhiwandi: Three persons, including the Bhiwandi vibhag pramukh Kailash Dhotre from Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena, were arrested on Thursday in connection with an assault which led to the death of a 16-year-old college student on Wednesday. The police initially lodged offences under sections 367 (kidnapping to subject a person to grievous hurt, slavery, etc), 307 (attempt to murder) of the Indian Penal Code. Later, the accused were booked under the sections of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST) Act, a special law that deals with crimes against members of the SC/ST.

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Dhotre was named as the prime accused in connection with the case. The police arrested Akash Jadhav and Vishal Sable along with Dhotre, taking the total arrests in the case to six on Thursday. The trio were produced in the court amid heavy security.

Mahadev Kumbhar, senior police inspector, at Bhiwandi City Police Station, said, “One of our teams received information about the accused hiding in Kalwa in Thane. We arrested them and produced them in court, which remanded them in police custody till February 26. So far six of 11 accused have been arrested. We have launched a search for the remaining accused.”

The 16 year old Sanket Bhosale, who was brutally assaulted by a group of 11 people on February 14 after his altercation with Dhotre’s son Deva, was admitted to KEM Hospital with serious injuries and died during treatment on Wednesday morning. The news of his death led to some tensions in Bhiwandi and some vehicles were vandalised by a mob of unknown people. However, the police prevented the situation from escalating.

The police action came on a complaint filed by Bhosale’s father on February 15. He said in the FIR that his son was abducted by Kailash Dhotre and his men and was later found unconscious with serious chest and head injuries in an auto-rickshaw near a private hospital. The police had already arrested three accused identified as Dinesh More, Karan Lashkar, and Chandan. Bhiwandi police sources said that a cross-complaint was also lodged by the Dhotre against the deceased and the deceased’s friends. Shrikant Paropkari, deputy commissioner, Bhiwandi had told HT on Wednesday night, “We have formed five teams to trace the remaining accused. Sanket Bhosale, the deceased, was abducted and brutally beaten up by Dhotre and others. On Wednesday around 11am, Bhosale passed away after which a group was found vandalising some vehicles. The situation was brought under control.”