4 min readPuneJun 20, 2026 06:45 PM IST
First published on: Jun 18, 2026 at 11:14 PM IST
Around eight Muslim families of Aarla village in Maharashtra’s Sangli district have threatened to pack their belongings and march to the Kolhapur Bench of the Bombay High Court, alleging lack of action in a case of assault by members of a radical Hindu group.
As per one of the families, the Danges, on April 28, a group of men from the neighbouring Padali village got into a fight with one of their members, Hussain Dange. The men had bought chicken from Hussain’s shop and borrowed utensils, some of which they reportedly misplaced. According to Hussain’s brother Abid, the men were drunk and abused Hussain, and the issue escalated after some youths from Aarla village joined them.
The main accused, Kedar Pargavkar, is affiliated to the Shri Shivpratishthan Hindustan, led by the controversial Sambhaji Bhide, who has himself faced multiple cases in the past, including of rioting.
The villagers dropped the plan for a march earlier, on June 7, on assurances by police.
Police, who were called by Hussain, spoke to both sides to calm down matters. But, Abid says, the men scuffled with police and attacked Hussain Dange with a knife, leaving him injured. A medical report by the Aadhar Healthcare Centre in Islampur says Hussain suffered three injuries, including a 15-cm knife cut on his left forearm.
An FIR was lodged into the incident and 16 people were arrested, all of whom are out of bail now. Abid asks why charges of attempt to murder were filed late, and eventually dropped. Abid also claims not all the accused were named, and names of fake accused were added, “making the case weak”.
Kokrud Police Station Assistant Police Inspector Rahul Atigre said that while Hussain was in the ICU, a doctor told them an artery had been cut. “I felt he could die, that is why we added the Section (of attempt to order). But later, after the doctor’s opinion, we removed the Section and added those dealing with ‘mischief by injury, inundation, fire or explosive substance’.”
Police separately filed a case against a nephew of Abid for allegedly driving rashly into a crowd on the day of the attack. Abid says his nephew did so to save him when the crowd was “attacking” him.
Assistant Inspector Atigre said he had no information that the accused were members of Bhide’s outfit, and described them as boys belonging to “farming families” and “not criminals”. “There is a video of the crime, and we have arrested the accused and applied the relevant Sections. If there are any additional accused, we will arrest them too.”
The Danges are demanding a Special Investigation Team (SIT), transfer of the Investigating Officer and action against Kokrud police, cancellation of bail given to the accused, plus revocation of cases filed against them. A petition for cancellation of bail has been filed by the family. On Dange’s plea, the Public Grievance Cell of the High Court wrote to Sangli Superintendent of Police Tushar Doshi on June 10 to look into the matter. Doshi did not respond to calls by The Indian Express.
Nilesh Awate, the secretary of the Shivpratishthan Hindustan Shirala Taluka, confirmed to The Indian Express that Pargavkar is an activist of the organisation. “As Shivpratishthan, we are always with our activists. Whenever there is any issue regarding the Hindu dharma, we are always with them.”
The families during an earlier march to the Kolhapur High Court, on June 7. (Source: Express Photo) 
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