Thane, Aug 12 (PTI) An office-bearer of the BJP’s youth wing and his cousin were hacked to death by unidentified armed assailants in Maharashtra’s Thane district, police said on Tuesday.
Prafulla Tangadi (42), vice-president of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM)’s Thane Rural district unit, and his cousin Tejas (22) were murdered at the former’s office in Khardi village on the Kharbav-Chinchoti Road under Bhiwandi taluka late on Monday night, they said.
Two masked assailants armed with sharp weapons barged into Tangadi’s office where he was sitting with a few other people and launched a frenzied attack, said senior inspector Harshvardhan Barve of Bhiwandi Taluka police station.
Tangadi and his cousin died on the spot, he said, adding the attackers fled the scene.
While a motive behind the brutal attack was not immediately known, police have formed multiple teams to trace the killers and detained two persons for questioning, said another official late in the night.
The Bhiwandi taluka police, based on a complaint by relatives of the victims, registered an FIR on Tuesday morning in which as many as 12 persons have been named as accused. The FIR was registered under sections 103(1)(murder), 61(2)(criminal conspiracy) read with 3(5) (common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), he said.
According to the FIR, Prafulla Tangadi was into the business of material supplies and also doubled up as an office-bearer of the BJYM.
He was sitting in his office along with a couple of others when the two masked men came inside and instantly attacked him and his cousin with a sword and knife. The duo, who suffered injuries and collapsed following the attack, was taken to a hospital where they were declared dead, said the FIR.
An office-bearer of the BJP from Bhiwandi, talking to the media, condemned the incident and demanded immediate arrest of the killers and a thorough probe.
He said local party leaders have taken up the issue at higher levels and even contacted Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, seeking arrest of the attackers.
Another activist of the BJP said earlier also there was a murderous attack on the BJYM office-bearer, who had escaped with gunshot wounds.
The bodies of the duo was handed over to their relatives after the post-mortem examination. PTI COR GK ARU RSY
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.