Pune Beat

Automan foils murder attempt
Thanks to an unidentified six-seater automan, Sunil Kedari, a resident of Pusegaon, Maval, had a narrow escape as he managed to reach Sassoon Hospital despite a hot chase by an armed duo who had attacked and stabbed him repeatedly near a petrol pump in Kalewadi on Wednesday night.

According to a complaint lodged by Sunil with the Talegaon police, he was stabbed by Raju Kedari and Deepak Kedari who also hail from Pusegaon. Raju had called on Sunil Wednesday evening, inviting him to resolve a long-standing conflict. The duo took him to a secluded place behind the Kalewadi petrol pump and repeatedly stabbed him with sharp weapons.

Sunil, a body builder, managed to escape from their clutches and ran towards the main road where he boarded a waiting six-seater auto rickshaw. Despite threats from the duo who were in hot pursuit, the automan sped away and rushed Sunil to Sassoon hospital.

The police said that Sunil and the two accused were involved in a prolonged land dispute which culminated in yesterday8217;s incident. Besides the land dispute, the accused were also opposed to Sunil8217;s romantic involvement with one of their relatives. The police are yet to trace the accused.

Action against slums demanded
Members of the Pimpri-Chinchwad New Township Development Authority PCNTDA have made a demand for a special meeting to discuss the line of action against encroachments on PCNTDA land.

The members in a signed statement addressed to the chief executive officer said that proper coordination among various departments of the PCNTDA was necessary whenever action against encroachments was to be taken. The engineering department, the survey department and the planning department should coordinate every action against encroachments, the members stated.