23 February,2026 04:40 PM IST | Palghar | mid-day online correspondent
A case has been registered against the accused, an official said. Representational Pic/File
A 52-year-old man was seriously injured after an armed assailant allegedly broke into his house and opened fire in Palghar district of Maharashtra in the early hours of Monday, police said, reported the PTI.
The incident took place at around 2.30 am in Vadhave village of Palghar tehsil.
According to police, the accused, Umesh Gharat (45), a resident of Betegaon, allegedly entered the house of Suresh Varghade and fired at him before fleeing the scene.
Varghade suffered gunshot wounds and was immediately taken to a nearby hospital. He is currently undergoing treatment and remains under medical care.
A case has been registered against the accused under relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Arms Act, police said, as per the PTI.
Yatish Deshmukh, Superintendent of Police of Palghar district, said that the accused is currently absconding and efforts are underway to trace and arrest him, the news agency reported.
Police said preliminary investigations are being carried out to find out whether the attack was the result of a personal dispute in the area or linked to some other grievance.
Further details are awaited as the investigation continues.
Meanwhile, in an another incident, a 31-year-old man was stabbed and stoned to death by a group of men on a busy road in Palghar district in a gang-related violence, police said on Sunday, according to the PTI.
The police have taken one person into custody, and a search has been launched for several others involved in the gruesome killing that took place in the Nalasopara area late on Friday night, an official said.
A CCTV footage, which has gone viral on social media, showed a group of men intercepting an autorickshaw, dragging the victim out, stabbing him and hitting him with stones.
The victim, Shubham Mishra, a resident of Gala Nagar in Nalasopara East, was travelling in an autorickshaw when the accused, who were part of a rival gang, stopped the vehicle on the pretext of wanting cigarettes, he said, reported the PTI.
"The accused dragged Mishra out and launched a violent attack using knives and heavy stones," he said.
Mishra sustained grievous injuries and was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he succumbed during treatment around midnight, the official said.
As per preliminary probe, the dispute between the victim and the accused began at a local bar, he said, adding that the killing may have been a fallout of an enmity between two gangs.
The Nalasopara police have registered a case under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), including murder and criminal conspiracy, the official said.
"We have taken one person into custody so far. A massive search has been launched to track down the other absconding accused," he said, adding that the attack in public caused tension in the locality, prompting a heavy police presence to maintain law and order, the news agency reported.
(with PTI inputs)
