Three elderly devotees from Pune, who were part of a group visiting Vitthal Rukmini temple in Pandharpur in Solapur district, were attacked with a paver block by locals on Tuesday. The incident took place following an altercation between members of the visiting group and locals over a two-wheeler brushing against the latter. Solapur Rural police have arrested two suspects in the case and said that the injuries of one of the three victims were grievous. The incident took place around 5.30 am on Tuesday outside the temple, located around 220 kms from Pune city. Police have identified the injured persons as Dilip Varne (67), who was severely injured on the head and is currently being treated at a hospital, and two other,s Pradeep Patil (69) and Nandkishor More (71), who sustained lacerations and bruises. "Our initial information suggests that a group of 33 devotees from Pune was on a visit to Pandharpur for the darshan at Vitthal Rukmini temple. Most of the group members were senior citizens. Sometime around 5 pm the group visited the temple. After the darshan, they came out and were taking photos of each other near the temple gate. At this time a bike rider brushed against some members," said an officer from Pandharpur Town police station. The officer added, "After a while, the group of elderly visitors went to a nearby tea stall. Here they confronted a group of people about one of their bikes brushing against them earlier. This led to a heated argument. One the members of the other group picked up a paver block and charged at to the senior citizens. Three persons were injured in the attack. Of the three, Dilip Varne's injuries are serious and he is currently being treated at a hospital. The injuries of two others are not serious. We have arrested two persons in the case and further probe is on."
