A shopkeeper in Kalyan West area of Thane district in Maharashtra was stabbed and assaulted on Thursday morning allegedly for refusing to give Rs 50 for Diwali celebrations to a history-sheeter and his group, a police official said, reported the PTI.

According to the official, the victim was allegedly attacked by a history-sheeter previously booked under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) and several drug addicts.

The accused reportedly visited the victim’s shop demanding Rs 50 to celebrate Diwali, which the shopkeeper refused due to their criminal backgrounds, the official added.

“Six drug addicts entered his shop early in the morning asking for Rs 50. One of them stabbed him with a knife, causing serious injuries, and also assaulted him. He was rescued by other shopkeepers, who managed to apprehend one of the attackers. The entire incident was caught on CCTV, and six individuals have been booked based on this evidence,” said a Mahatma Phule police station official, according to the PTI.

The main accused is a known criminal who had previously been held under MCOCA, he added.

Local shopkeepers reported that the main accused, after being released from jail in an earlier case, has once again started extorting money from residents in the area through threats of violence.

Police are currently making efforts to apprehend the remaining five accused, the official said, the news agency reported.

Meanwhile, in an another incident in Maharashtra`s Latur district, a student died allegedly after being assaulted during a freshers` party at a private college. The alleged suicide led the police officials to arrest six pupils, as per the officials.

The incident occurred on October 8 during the freshers` party organised at the well-known college in the MIDC area of Latur, said the police officials.

Police officials, while elaborating about the incident, emphasised that “A minor dispute that began while dancing during the bash soon escalated into violence when the victim. The deceased student had an argument with a group of fellow students. In a fit of rage, the group allegedly attacked Shinde with sticks and fists,” as cited by news agency PTI. 

According to the official release, “The deceased student sustained serious injuries and was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he died during treatment. Following the incident, police registered a case of murder based on a complaint by one of the college goers and arrested four students till October 16,” as cited by news agency PTI. 

Furthermore, two more students were arrested on Tuesday (October 21) after their involvement in the assault came to light, taking the number of those nabbed to 6, stated the police.

As per the police officials, all of them were booked under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) sections related to murder, voluntarily causing hurt, causing grievous hurt using dangerous weapons or means, criminal intimidation and intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace, among others, as reported by news agency PTI. 

(With inputs from PTI)

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