17-year-old hacked to death, three minors detained

IN THE second murder of a minor in a day, a 17-year-old youth was brutally hacked to death with machetes over a dispute with a rival group that had started during Ganesh festival, police said. Three minors, all 17 years old, have been detained.

The incident took place around 11.15 pm on Tuesday in Vadgaon Budruk area on Sinhagad Road. Police identified the deceased as Shripat Anant Bankar (17), a resident of Vadgaon Budruk. “Initial probe suggests the deceased and the three accused had a dispute during Ganesh festival earlier this year. On Tuesday morning the accused accosted the deceased, who was on his bike. They attacked him with machetes multiple times and also hit him with a rock. They fled the scene leaving him bleeding on the ground. Some people took Bankar to hospital where he was pronounced dead,” said an officer from Sinhagad Road police station. The accused have been detained and will be produced before the Juvenile Justice Board.

The incident came just hours after a 17-year-old college student was hacked to death in a machete attack by two assailants when he was on his way to college in Ramtekdi area of Pune on Tuesday morning. Police said the attack was the fallout of a past dispute between the deceased and one of the assailants.