‘I would have met same fate if I hadn’t run’

Sachin,who stays in Tanaji Nagar in Kurar,had accompanied Bharat Pudale,one of the victims,to a clinic in Shivaji Nagar. “I was standing outside while Bharat went into the clinic. I saw Uday Pathak and about eight men consuming alcohol near Lakshmi bar. I knew Pathak was a local goon but was trying to recognise his accomplices when Pathak asked me,‘ghoorta kya hai be?’ (why are you staring at me?). I did not say a word,but Bharat saw all this and abused Pathak. That angered him and he told his men to beat us up,” says Sachin.

He says they ran from the spot and Bharat called Chetan Dhule and other friends. “Within minutes,a group of youths arrived. We caught hold of Pathak and his men behind Lakshmi bar and beat them up,” he admits. Pathak then summoned 10-12 men at the spot. “They began thrashing us. I ran from the spot as Pathak’s close aid Vicky began beating me,” says Sachin,who refused to get photographed. Later,he got a call from Bharat,who asked him to come to the S K Patil Ground. When he reached the spot,he saw his four friends in a Tavera with their hands tied behind their backs. “The goons tried to catch me but I fled and reached the Kurar police station. But the cops refused to accompany me to the spot.”

Sachin and his friends then went to search for his friends and found the bodies. “The scene was horrible and I thought if I had not run away I would also be dead by now,” he adds.