Say families of the victims, who blocked the Western Express Highway for two hours to protest against the Kurar police; cops had to resort to a lathicharge to disperse the crowd
Say families of the victims, who blocked the Western Express Highway for two hours to protest against the Kurar police; cops had to resort to a lathicharge to disperse the crowd
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Angry at the Kurar police for showing apathy towards them and blaming them for causing the death of their loved ones through inaction, families and friends of Chetan Dhule (24), Dinesh Ahire (26), Ganesh Karanje (24) and Bharat Kudle (27) blocked the Western Express Highway for more than two hours to register their protest.
Neighbours console the grieving father and wife of Ganesh Karanje.u00a0Locals from Kurar Village block traffic on the Western Express Highway to protest the murders the murders of the four men
"We had arrived at the police station immediately after our boys were kidnapped, but instead of taking prompt action, the police treated us with apathy," said Dhule's mother, who was inconsolable after losing her only son.
"We were looking for the boys the entire night, but no policeman accompanied us for fear of entering the jungle.
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If they would have come with us in the night, the accused would not have got the chance to murder them. The police's negligence killed our sons," said Karanje's parents.
Discovery
After the Kurar police allegedly refused to register the missing and kidnapping complaint of the victims' families on Saturday night, angry locals descended on the police station to make them register the complaint. One of the victims' friends Chetan Singhade had allegedly seen Ahire being kidnapped.
However, when the police refused to help them look for the men, the locals made teams of 10 people each and began the hunt themselves.
"We searched for the men all through the night but could not find them. We told the police that the gang's secret hideout was the jungle and asked them to accompany us inside. The police refused to go, so we made teams and followed the path into the forest," said Pravin Pawar, a friend of the victims.
After hunting unsuccessfully for the men on Saturday and Sunday, the locals found a T-shirt that belonged to Ahire 10 minutes from the village, in an area bordering the forest. On recognising the T-shirt, the locals further ventured into the forest and crossed three hillocks in the men's search.
"We were about to return when we heard hundreds of crows at a distance. We followed the cries of the birds and, on reaching a stream deep within the forest, we saw the mangled bodies of the men. The men were lying naked with deep cuts on their throats.
The bodies were drenched in petrol and were partially charred," said Ramrao Pawar, additional commissioner of police (north region), who claimed that the police were with the locals during their search.
Protest
For more than 2 hours yesterday, locals from the village blocked the Western Express Highway to protest against the Kurar police.
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"We want justice. We will continue to protest until the police arrest the killers, we will continue to protest. We will not even claim the bodies of the men if the police do not take action now," said Riyaz Shaikh, a local and friend of the victims.
Despite repeated warnings, the locals refused to budge and call off the protest. The police had to finally resort to a lathicharge to bring the mob under control. Locals also damaged the house of the main accused, Uday Pathak. They pelted stones and broke the windows and door.
Late night update
Mohan Sankhe, senior police inspector, Kurar Police Station was transferred at 11.30 pm last night for not taking down the locals' complaint on Saturday and for neglecting his duty.
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