Panic in Sangli as Teenager Shot Dead
KOLHAPUR: Panic gripped Sangli's Abhaynagar ST Colony around 6.30 pm on Thursday when a gang of five men barged into the house of Sangli Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) director Maruti Bandgar and shot dead his 13-year-old son, Vedant, at point-blank range.
“The assailants fired the bullet from point blank range into the victim’s right eye,” Sangli Superintendent of Police (SP) Tushar Doshi said and added, “The boy was taken to a hospital where the doctors declared him dead.”
The SP said, “Based on information provided by those present in the house at the time of the incident, the intruders were looking for Maruti Bandgar and his father, Balasaheb Bandgar, who is a former director of the APMC and leader of head load workers. We are investigating various angles to establish the motive behind the murder.”
An official from Sangli local crime branch told TOI, “We are examining CCTV footage retrieved from locations around the scene of crime and are recording statements of witnesses as part of our exercise to ascertain the motive behind the attack. For now, professional rivalry seems to be the motive.”
Police said the assailants reached the house in a four-wheeler and entered the porch where Vedant was playing. His uncle was in the house. The intruders kept asking for Vedant’s father and grandfather before opening fire, police said and added that his uncle ran inside on hearing the firing.
Doshi said, “We have deployed teams to identify, trace and arrest the suspects.”
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