Representational Pic
Police have arrested nine individuals following the tragic death of a man in Maharashtra's Palghar district. The man was mistakenly shot by a member of his own hunting group, who believed he was a wild boar, authorities confirmed.
The incident took place on January 29, when a group of villagers ventured into the Borsheti forest area in Manor for a wild boar hunt. The group became separated during the expedition, and later, one of the hunters, misidentifying a member of the group as a wild animal, opened fire.
Ramesh Vartha (60), a resident of Borsheti, was struck by the bullet and died instantly, according to Palghar Deputy Superintendent of Police, Abhijit Dharashivkar. "The group was startled by the accidental shooting and, instead of reporting the incident to the authorities, they panicked and hid the body in the bushes," said Dharashivkar.
The situation escalated when the wife of the deceased filed a missing person's complaint on February 1. During their investigation, police discovered that the hunting group had travelled to Aalan Hills in Manor on January 28, with Vartha joining them the following day.
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It was revealed that Vartha was walking towards a site where food was being prepared, and his footsteps disturbed the dry leaves, leading to the confusion. Sagar Naresh Hadal (28), one of the hunters hiding with a gun, mistakenly fired at Vartha, believing he was a wild boar.
In an attempt to cover up the accident, the group concealed the body and fled the scene. However, after questioning the suspects, the police located Vartha's decomposed body on February 5 and sent it for a post-mortem at a government hospital.
The authorities arrested nine people, including Hadal, in connection with the incident. The Manor police have charged the accused under multiple sections, including Section 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), Section 238 (causing disappearance of evidence), and Section 3(5) (criminal act done in furtherance of common intention) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
In related developments, there were unconfirmed reports that another villager, Ankush Mehloda, had succumbed to injuries sustained during the same hunting trip. However, Dharashivkar dismissed these reports after confirming with Mehloda's family that he had died due to a prolonged illness on January 30, unrelated to the shooting incident.
(With inputs from PTI)
