Tourist murdered as fight between two groups at farmhouse near Lonavala turns violent; 2 held

The police identified the deceased as Kamlesh Tanaji Dhopavkar, 45, a fisherman who hailed from Adur Kondkarul village in Ratnagiri district, and the injured as Prajwal Uday Mehta, who sustained a head injury, and Manoj Madhukar Varvatkar, 42, who suffered an injury to his hand.

Dhopavkar, Mehta and Varvatkar were part of a group of 15 fishermen from Karanje Port in Uran in Raigad district who had travelled to the Lonavala area to visit Ekvira Temple and other places.

After visiting the temple on May 25, the group came to the Yewale Farm House at Dahivali.

According to the FIR registered by Varvatkar, the tandel or head crewman of the group of fishermen, the first argument took place at around 6.45 pm on May 25. Varvatkar’s group was leaving the farmhouse in their rented tempo traveller. The driver, Sagar Navale, was finding it difficult to take the vehicle out of the parking area since there was another tempo traveller parked on the way, the FIR said.

As Navale tried to navigate the turn, a member of another group started passing snide remarks about him and even used abusive words, as per the FIR. At this point, some members of Varvatkar’s group stepped out of the vehicle and started questioning the man hurling abuses.

The argument escalated into violence, and one of the members of the other group allegedly hit Mehta on the head with a bamboo stick. After this, a fight broke out and members of the other group started hitting Varvatkar’s group with sticks, metal rods, pipes, etc., the FIR alleged. At this point, as per the FIR, members of Varvatkar’s group convinced the other group to stop and left the farmhouse in their vehicle.

However, after they travelled a short distance, some more accomplices from the other group blocked their vehicle, even as the group from the farmhouse followed in cars, the FIR stated. Another fight ensued, in which Dhopavkar was allegedly hit hard on his head with a metal rod by a man wearing a green T-shirt, the FIR added. As Dhopavkar fell and stopped moving, the group fled, as per the FIR.

Dhopavkar was rushed to a nearby private hospital, where he was pronounced dead by the doctors.

The police have identified the accused as Nikesh Kambire, Pratik Deshmukh, Yash Padwal, and Gaurav Pattadhari and are investigating their role in the case.

Police Inspector Kishor Dhumal of Lonavala Rural police station said: “We have arrested Padwal and Pattadhari. A search has been launched for Kambire and Deshmukh. We are in the process of identifying the other suspects.”