Cable rivalry to fore,operator hacked to death

The deceased has been identified as Suresh Maruti Waghmare,40,of Bibvewadi who operated Jai Bhavani Cable Network in the area. The Sahakar Nagar police have filed a first information report against five suspects — Datta Kamble who runs the Maharaja Cable Network in the area,Santosh Rashinkar,Rajesh Raman,Agalesh Raman and Sanjay Kamble. Police said Kamble’s accomplices had allegedly attacked Waghmare earlier in 2007 and were out on bail in the case.

They said Suresh and brother Navnath Waghmare were at their home in Chaphal Vasti of Bakul Nagar around 12 noon when the former got a call on his cellphone. Both of them left home on a motorcycle and when they had gone a few metres,a car crashed into their bike and the duo fell down. In no time,three persons who came in the car and two others who arrived on a bike attacked them with sharp weapons. While Navnath managed to escape,Suresh succumbed to injuries. The suspects fled from the spot,leaving behind the car and bike.

Suresh had addressed a news conference on May 7,claiming that there was a threat to his life. Police said he was murdered by the same persons he had named in the complaint. “Teams from Sahakar Nagar police station and the crime branch have been dispatched to nab the suspects,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone II) Rajeshkumar Mor.

Suresh’s cable network,which has recently associated itself with the ICC Cable Network,had around 400 home connections in Mahesh Society and surrounding areas. “It’s a fallout of the cable war. Kamble wanted to gain control of the entire cable operations in Bibwewadi,” said DCP Mor.