Man shot dead over old property dispute in Vasai

Mumbai: A 42-year-old man was shot dead over an old property dispute between two families in Vasai. The deceased’s two brothers were also injured in the attack by nine persons outside their residence on Monday morning. The deceased, Baban Mali, was involved in a legal dispute with one of the accused persons, Mahendra Singh Thakur, over the ownership rights of a property in the village. The police has arrested three, including two women, out of the nine accused. The other six accused are still at large.

According to a complaint registered at the Valiv police station by Baban’s brother- Ravindra Mali, Thakur came to their house on Saturday morning and picked up an argument with his brother. Thakur was accompanied by eight members of his family including Dhiraj, Sunita, Susheela, Vijeta Mahendra Thakur alas Gudhiya, Prabhakar, Balaram Shiv Shankar Thakur alias Bachwa and a person identified as Mamma. When the complainant and his younger brother Jagdish tried to intervene, Mahendra Thakur’s nephew Dhiraj alias Bunty attacked the duo with a wooden log. Mahendra Thakur opened fire at Baban Mali who died on the spot after being hit by a bullet on his chest. While all the accused fled to the spot, Jagdish and Ravindra were rushed to a private hospital in Vasai where their condition is now said to be stable. 

“Acting on a complaint registered by Ravindra Mali, the police registered an offence under various sections of the IPC. This apart from slapping charges under the relevant sections of the Prevention of Atrocities  Act.” said police inspector Sanjay Hazare.