A 52-year-old man was murdered and a senior revenue official was injured after a group of around 10 men dragged them out of a car and assaulted them with rocks at a quarry in Shirgaon, Virar East. The duo had gone to the site for a spot panchanama. Virar police have registered a case against the accused and detained a few of them. The process of arresting the detained persons is underway, while a hunt is on for the others. Police are also confirming if the deceased was an active RTI activist.
Victim and Incident Details
The deceased, Atmaram Patil, worked with a local social outfit. Senior office bearers of this outfit had alleged ongoing illegal quarrying and escalated the complaint on a central government portal. Accordingly, on Tuesday morning, the revenue officer (mandal adhikari) Prabhakar Patil went to this site and upon observation informed his senior office bearers that no activity was seen. Atmaram was thereafter sent to the site to guide Prabhakar in the latter’s car. When they both went further ahead with their driver, a group of around 10 people were already present there.
Previous Animosity and Attack
Cops have confirmed there was previous animosity between this group and Atmaram, who was dragged out of the car and assaulted with rocks. Cops said Prabhakar is undergoing treatment at the local government hospital.
Official Statement
Deepak Gaikwad, Vasai tehsildar, told TOI: “On Tuesday afternoon, we had sent our staffer, Prabhakar Patil, to visit the quarry in Virar, against which we had received a complaint. This quarry in question is legal and is currently shut. Prabhakar Patil communicated as much to the complainant. But Atmaram was sent to guide us to the exact spot, where a group was already present. Soon, an argument erupted and Atmaram was attacked and killed while Prabhakar was injured in this attack and his car was damaged.”
Crackdown on Illegal Quarries
Gaikwad said the revenue department has been aggressive in sealing all illegal quarries in the Vasai taluka and had taken action against more than a dozen of them.
