Thane man arrested for attempting to murder hotel owner

Police said the accused, a 38-year-old from Thane, slashed at the hotel owner 24 times; he has been arrested and a case of attempt to murder has been registered

The Rabodi police have arrested a 38-year-old Thane resident for allegedly stabbing a hotel owner over a petty reason earlier this month. A video of the attack, where the drunk accused is seen slashing at the victim more than 20 times with a dagger, had gone viral after the incident last week.

Rabodi police have arrested a 38-year-old Thane resident for attempting to murder a hotel owner over a petty reason earlier this month. (HT FILE)

According to the police, the accused, identified as Ashok Marsale, is a driver by profession and stays on Amberkar Road in Thane. Police said that on October 15, Marsale, under the influence of alcohol, went to Ruchi Chinese Center near Castle Mill in Rabodi and ordered food.

“Marsale asked the hotel owner, Prashant Pujari (39), to serve him his order on a concrete ledge outside the hotel instead of at a table inside like everyone else. Due to the ongoing restrictions placed in the city in light of the pandemic, Pujari refused and this angered Marsale,” police inspector Ramchandra Valatkar of Rabodi police station said.

A furious Marsale allegedly whipped out a dagger from under his shirt and slashed at Pujari 24 times. As Pujari reflexively raised both his hands above his head to shield himself, he sustained most of the injuries to his arms and only a few to his head. The entire incident was captured on a nearby CCTV camera and a clip found its way to WhatsApp.

The police have registered a case of attempt to murder against Marsale under the IPC and launched a manhunt for him. On Thursday evening, the police received a tip off that Marsale had returned home after being on the run for several days. He was picked up from near his residence and placed under arrest.

“Inquiries have established that Marsale and Pujari had a similar argument in the past, and on the day of the incident, Marsale had gone to Pujari’s restaurant armed with a dagger intending to teach him a lesson. Marsale has been remanded in our custody for 10 days,” Valatkar said.