For Shivaji Ghare, there will be no Rakshabandhan this year.
For Shivaji Ghare, there will be no Rakshabandhan this year. His sister Kanta Thaker (40) from Yelse village will not be there to tie a rakhi on his wrist. She was one of the victims caught in the firing on farmers by the police at Talegaon. 
Devastated: Shivaji Ghare, brother of victim Kanta Thaker at the
Sassoon hospital
Ghare, who was at Sassoon yesterday for his sister's body, was inconsolable. Ghare was not the only one who had lost a kin. Two other bodies were brought in at Sassoon for post-mortem after the mayhem in Talegaon. Relatives refused to take the bodies, blaming the politicians for all that happened in Talegaon.
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Hundreds of angry farmers had gathered at Wadgaon Maval and Talegaon to protest against the government's decision to install pipelines through their villages and farms from Pavna dam to Pimpri-Chinchwad and surrounding areas. Things spiralled out of control when the protestors blocked the Expressway. The police then opened fire, leaving four dead and several injured.
Superintendent of Police Sandip Karnik of Pune rural police admitted that the police fired 10 rounds to control the mob. "The police fired only when the mob got out of hand and started attacking the policemen. Four are dead and some injured. We tried to control the mob with 1,000 policemen and one State Reserve Police company. Before we opened fire, we threw 20 tear gas cylinders and fired 25 rubber bullets for the crowd to disperse. But the crowd became violent and one of our policemen was attacked by the mob, so we had to open fire," said Karnik.
The other deceased who were brought in were Moreshwar Sopan Sathe (40) from Shivne village, Shamrao Waghu Tupe (25) from Chandvali village and Maruti Kirat. Ghare blamed the politicians who were present at Sassoon and said, "Don't politicise this incident. Please help the victims. It is sad that my sister died when Rakshabandhan is just round the corner. This was a brutal act of killing by the police. My sister was hit by bullets on her chest."
Members of the Opposition present at Sassoon blamed the police for being brutal and demanded a judicial inquiry. BJP's Eknath Khadse, Leader of Opposition in the assembly, visited the Sassoon morgue. "This is a brutal act by the police because they are supposed to aim at the lower half of the body while firing, but in many cases the victims and the injured sustained injuries on their head and chest," said Khadse.
Other politicians present were Shiv Sena MP Gajanan Babar and Shiv Sena spokesperson Dr Neelam Ghore. The panchnama of the deceased were made in the presence of tehsildar Dr Yogesh Kharmate.
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