Activist killed, revenue official injured at stone quarry in Virar; two arrested
The local Virar police was alerted about the incident following which a murder case was registered and police began investigations in the matter.
Senior inspector of Virar police station Lalu Ture said that once Amit Chaudhary reached the quarry, it led to an argument between the quarry owners, their employees and Aatmaram Patil. (Express photo) A local activist and political party worker was killed while a revenue official from the tehsildar office suffered minor injuries on Tuesday afternoon when the duo was attacked by 10 – 12 persons from a quarry in Virar they had gone to inspect. The Virar police have arrested two persons and are on the lookout for others.
Mira Bhayandar Vasai Virar (MBVV) Police DCP Suhas Bawache said that the incident took place on Tuesday afternoon when a circle officer Prabhakar from the Tehsildar office along with his driver reached a quarry in Shirgaon area of Virar to inspect a complaint of illegality they had received regarding it.
“When the officer did not find the specific illegality, he called up the complainant, one Amit Chaudhary from the Loktankrik Lokrajyam Party (a Bihar based party). Chaudhary told the official to wait there and he was sending a party worker identified as Aatmaram Patil (54) who resided near the quarry,” the officer said.
Senior inspector of Virar police station Lalu Ture said that once Chaudhary reached the quarry, it led to an argument between the quarry owners, their employees and Patil.
The argument soon led to a physical fight and around 10 – 12 persons at the quarry including the stone crushers who allegedly smashed Aatmaram Patil’s face with a stone several times, killing him. (Express photo)
“Over the past year, the two sides have had several fights and FIRs have been registered against both sides,” Ture said.
He added that the argument soon led to a physical fight and around 10 – 12 persons at the quarry including the stone crushers who allegedly smashed Aatmaram Patil’s face with a stone several times, killing him.
In the melee that ensued, the official Prabhakar Patil too suffered injuries and the Wagon R car, in which they had reached the spot, was also damaged. The locals present at the spot rushed the duo to the local hospital where Aatmaram was declared dead while Prabhakar was given treatment.
The local Virar police was alerted about the incident following which a murder case was registered and police began investigations in the matter. An official said the deceased’s son Hemant Patil told them that the quarry owner had threatened the deceased several times in the past and alleged he had been attacked in the past as well for his activism related to opposing illegal quarries in the Palghar area.
Based on the statements of Prabhakar and the family, the police registered an FIR against those at the quarry who attacked the duo and arrested two persons. “We are on the lookout for others and by night several other accused will be placed under arrest,” an official said.
The officer added that they are going through the past cases that both sides registered against each other to understand the nature of the dispute.
“We are also trying to find out what transpired on Tuesday afternoon that the accused murdered the deceased in such a brutal manner,” the officer added.
Since tension prevailed, there was heavy police deployment in the area.
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