Navi Mumbai: A family dispute allegedly turned violent in Uran on Thursday evening when a 32-year-old driver was attacked with an iron object, doused with petrol and set on fire by two men while returning home from work. One of the accused has been arrested, while police are trying to trace the second while the victim remains under treatment.
A passer-by alerted the police and helped take Patil to Gandhi Hospital in Panvel. The injured man managed to remove his shirt, preventing further burns. He remains under treatment.
Police registered a case at 11.49pm on Thursday under Sections 109(1), 118(2), 126(2) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), pertaining to attempted murder, grievous hurt using dangerous means, wrongful restraint and common intention.
“The first accused has been arrested, and we will soon nab the second as well,” the investigating officer said.
The victim, Ramesh Krishna Patil, a resident of Sardé village, was travelling home on his motorcycle when the two men allegedly intercepted him on a Bullet motorcycle. The attack took place around 5.30pm near the P P Khar Patil petrol pump in Bhomgaon, Uran.
The dispute allegedly concerned the accused’s relationship with one of Patil’s distant relative, which Patil had opposed. The first accused then allegedly poured petrol from a plastic bottle over Patil and set him on fire with a matchstick. He suffered burns to his head, face, both hands, ears, left shoulder and neck.
Police said the attack may have stemmed from an old dispute between Patil and one of the accused, Ashtang alias Sarvesh Hareshwar Patil, 28.
The second accused is said to be a friend of Ashtang, but his identity has not been established.
