E-Paper
Godman, three others arrested for murdering duo in Kalyan
The victims were beaten to death on the recommendation of a self-proclaimed godman who said they were possessed by some evil spirit.
Khadakpada police in Kalyan, Maharashtra arrested four persons including a godman who murdered a 50-year-old man and his 76-year-old mother by beating them to death. The four had assaulted the duo to free them from evil spirits on the recommendation of the self-proclaimed godman.
According to Khadakpada police, the deceased were identified as Pandharinath Tare and his mother Chandubai Tare. The accused are identified as Pandhrinath’s 17-year-old son, his nephew Vinayak Tare, 22; niece Kavita Tare, 27 and godman Surendra Patil, 32. All hail from Atali village of Kalyan which comes under Khadakpada police station jurisdiction.
Pandhrinath knew godman Surendra Patil through his friend. He decided to visit the godman after observing changes in his niece’s behaviour.
Also read: Do it if you can - Uddhav Thackeray dares opposition to topple his govt
Khadakpada police station senior police inspector, Ashok Pawar said, “ Deceased Pandharinath and his wife used to take their niece Kavita to Surendra’s house once a week. He used to say chant mantras to make her normal. But when all his mantras didn’t work on Friday evening Surendra came to visit the deceased’s house to find the reason behind her behaviour. The godman said that she could recover only if he kills the evil spirit who possessed the two deceased. He said he would chant some Mantras while others would beat them up.”
The officer further added, “ The three youngsters brought sticks and Surendra with his mantra started beating up them simultaneously, throwing turmeric on them. They started beating up the duo around 4.30 pm which carried on till 8.45 pm when the duo went unconscious. All of them thought that the duo was free from the evil spirit. But after two hours when they didn’t wake up, Pandharinath’s wife called her another nephew Devendra Bhoir, 34, for help, who then took them to a nearby hospital where they were declared dead.”
Bhoir learned about the incident and informed the police. Khadakpada police arrested the accused under sections 302, 34 of the Indian Penal Code along with The Maharashtra Prevention and Eradication of Human Sacrifice and other Inhuman, Evil and Aghori Practices and Black Magic Act, 2013. Police officials are awaiting the postmortem report.
