Man kills brother in fight over lockdown
A 28-year-old man killed his younger brother, who tried to stop him and his wife from going to a market during the lockdown imposed because of Coronavirus outbreak.
The deceased, Dugesh Thakur, worked in a private firm in Pune. He had returned home after the lockdown was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
On Wednesday, his elder brother Rajesh Laxmi Thakur and his wife stepped out of the house despite repeated warnings about the lockdown, an official from Samta Nagar police station said. When the couple got back home after their outing, Durgesh was still furious with them and that a heated argument ensued, following which the accused attacked him with a frying pan, the official said.
“The younger brother had objected to Rajesh and his wife going to market to buy vegetables despite of a lockdown. But the couple still went to the market and when they returned, Durgesh started quarreling with them and hit his brother’s wife. This angered Rajesh and he hit his brother with metal frying pan lying in the kitchen,” senior inspector of police Raju Kasbe said.
According to another police officer Rajesh hit Durgesh in the head three times.
After hearing commotion neighbours gathered there and rushed Durgesh to hospital where doctors declared him brought dead.
Following the incident the Samta Nagar police registered a case under IPC section 302 (murder) on complaint of Durgesh’s friend Ramprasad Mukhya (30).
Rajesh was produced in a local court on Thursday, which remanded him to police custody for a day.
Meanwhile, the Navi Mumbai police arrested two persons for allegedly roaming about in public during Covid-19 lockdown and that too without any protective masks.
According to the police, this may be the first offence registered under Maharashtra Covid-19 Measures 2020, a directive, which was issued after the government imposed section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) in the state.
The police arrested Mehboob Chand Shaikh (47) and Vikas Mishra (27). Shaikh, who owns a mutton shop, claimed that he was taking a post-lunch stroll, while Mishra said he had stepped out for an ice cream, senior inspector Satish Gaikwad of Kalamboli police said.
The duo has been booked under section 188 (disobeying a government order) of the IPC and relevant provisions of the Disaster Management Act and Maharashtra Covid-19 Measures 2020, he said.
The accused were subsequently released on bail and will be called to remain present before court, he added.
Meanwhile, as people in Mahrashtra continue to throng the shops despite state government’s repeated appeals to exercise restraint during the lockdown period, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has provided them relief by announcing that the shops of essential commodities will be allowed to stay open 24X7 in the state.