Nashik: A 55-year-old man was murdered in Nashik district after he refused to withdraw a three-year-old molestation case against another man. According to the police, the victim was beaten to death by seven people, including Sayyad Sayeed, who had allegedly molested the victim’s daughter.

The alleged molestation took place at Golden Nagar in Malegaon town, Nashik, in 2015. The victim registered a complaint against Sayeed at Pawardi police station, and the case was pending in a local court.

Meanwhile, Sayeed had been pressurising the woman’s father, Fazal Mohammed Nawab Ali, to withdraw the case, but the latter refused, a police official said. On saturday night, Sayeed and a few of his accomplices intercepted Ali while he was returning home in Malegaon and beat him up severely with wooden sticks, the police official said.

“Ali suffered serious injuries and died on the way to hospital. We have arrested four of the attackers, including Sayeed,” said Ratnakar Navale deputy superintendent of police.

Based on a complaint filed by the deceased’s son, the accused have been booked under IPC sections 302 (murder); 323 (voluntarily causing hurt); 147, 148 (rioting); 149 (unlawful assembly); 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace); and 506 (criminal intimidation), Mr Navale said.