On Monday (24th June), a 60-year-old man was brutally murdered with a sharp weapon in Rajiv Gandhi Nagar in Pune’s Yerawada area over a relationship of his son with Ismail Riyaz Shaikh’s sister, Pune city police officials said. As per some local media reports, the accused beheaded the victim.
Police identified the deceased as Katalu Kachru Lahade. They also arrested two accused in this matter. The main accused was identified as Ismail Riyaz Shaikh (25) while his aide was identified as Sanket Umesh Gupta (21). Police stated that both Shaikh and Gupta are labourers and Lahade was unemployed.
According to reports, Lahade was attacked with a sharp weapon, allegedly a machete. At the time of the incident, Lahade was sitting under a tree in the open space of the Mental Hospital in Yerwada along with the staff, following lunch. Two attackers on a bike approached him and one of them launched the fatal attack. Lahade sustained severe injuries to his head and hand which resulted in his immediate demise.
Pertinent to note that Lahade’s religious identity is unknown. As per reports, the ‘Interfaith marriage’ of Shaikh’s sister with the victim’s son is said to be the motive behind the brutal murder. On the day of the incident, Shaikh’s sister reportedly ran away with Lahade’s son without informing her family.
Yerawada police station in-charge, senior inspector Ravindra Shelke said, “Initial investigation points to this murder being a fallout between Lahade and Shaikh over the relationship between Lahade’s son and Shaikh’s sister. On Monday morning, it came to light that Shaikh’s sister left her home with Lahade’s son without informing her family. Probe suggests that this was the reason behind the fatal attack on Lahade.”
Shelke added, “Shaikh used a sharp weapon and attacked Lahade on his face… Gupta was with Shaikh when he attacked Lahade. We have deployed police teams in the area after the incident.”
The body of the deceased victim was sent for post-mortem examination. Inspector Shelke stated that appropriate measures have been taken at the spot, and there are no concerns regarding law and order at this time.