A Congress activist was killed and two others were injured when a mob, allegedly led by a local Shiv Sena corporator, attacked a cable network office in Kalyan on Monday.
Around 8.30 pm on Monday, about 15-20 people attacked the office of Saibaba Cable network in Jarimari Nagar, Tisgaon. The mob beat cable operator Devidas Gaikwad (52), his nephew Amit Joshi (28) and employee Dinesh Sawant, said Inspector Ajinath Satpute, attached to Kolsewadi police station.
“My uncle was sitting in his office when a mob attacked him with sticks, chopper, steel rods. They hit him with steel rods and when he collapsed, they hit him on the head with a stone. Sawant and I tried to intervene, but were beaten too,” said Joshi.
The trio was taken to AIMS Hospital in Dombivli, where Gaikwad succumbed to his injuries on Tuesday. Sawant’s condition is stated to be serious. Joshi, who had received minor injuries, has been discharged.
The police suspect that the main reason behind the attack was the enmity between Gaikwad and Shiv Sena Corporator from Ward 53, Harshvardhan Palande (58), and another cable operator, Yogesh Gawahane.
{{/usCountry}}The police suspect that the main reason behind the attack was the enmity between Gaikwad and Shiv Sena Corporator from Ward 53, Harshvardhan Palande (58), and another cable operator, Yogesh Gawahane.
{{/usCountry}}“The hostility between Palande and my uncle began three years ago when my uncle unsuccessfully contested against Palande in the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation election,” said Joshi.
“Palande and Gawahane had started laying cable lines in my uncle’s area illegally. My uncle had filed a complaint with the police and cut down the illegal cable lines laid by Gawahane in Navpanchak building in Jarimari Nagar about 15 days ago,” he added.
The police have arrested six of the accused, including a constable from Shantinagar police station in Bhiwandi, for rioting and murder.