Two arrested, search on for other accused in Ulhasnagar firing case

The accused – Shekhar Birajdar, 25 and Ajay Rao, 23 – were part of the mob of 8-10 people that attacked the victims over an old dispute, police said

THANE: The Hill Line police in Ulhasnagar on Friday arrested two young men in connection with Thursday’s firing incident at Kailash colony which left two brothers dead and their uncle seriously injured. The accused – Shekhar Birajdar, 25 and Ajay Rao, 23 – were part of the mob of 8-10 people that attacked the victims over an old dispute, and a search is on the remaining accused including main accused Sagar Patil and Laxman Patil, police officers aware of the matter told Hindustan Times.

(Shutterstock)

“We have formed several teams to trace and arrest the remaining accused,” a police officer said, requesting anonymity.

As reported by HT earlier, on Thursday evening, Sagar and Laxman Patil, two history-sheeters out on bail, fired several rounds at brothers Aman Chauhan, 22, and Anil Chauhan, 17, and their uncle Arjun Chauhan owing to an old dispute. The trio, who run a transport business, were rushed to a nearby hospital where Aman and Anil died due to severe injuries and heavy bleeding.

After the incident, Vicky Chauhan, brother of the deceased, alleged that Aman and Anil Chauhan had complained at the Hill Line police station about the Patils seeking ransom from them, but the police had merely registered a non-cognisable (NC) complaint, which was converted into an FIR after the Patil brothers assaulted them again.

On Friday, the Hill Line police registered a first information report (FIR) regarding the incident based on a complaint from Dipak Kumar, an associate of the deceased, who also runs a transport business.

In his complaint, Dipak Thakur said he was with the deceased brothers and their uncle on Thursday when the attack took place and alleged that the assailants had primarily come to target him.

“I had an earlier dispute with the absconding accused Sagar Patil and his gang members. Around three months ago, I submitted an application at the deputy commissioner of police (DCP) (zone 4) office seeking action against them and mentioning the threat to my life, but no action was taken by the police. Now, they have killed two people,” Thakur said.

He claimed that while he managed to hide from the assailants, they fired at the deceased brothers and their uncle who had lodged complaints against them.

Calls and messages to Sachin Gore, DCP (zone 4), seeking comments on the matter remained unanswered.