The group of villagers had ventured into Borsheti forest area at Manor in the Palghar district for hunting of wild boars when the incident took place, said an official
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A man was allegedly shot dead by his group members after he was 'mistaken to be a wild animal' by them. The police has detained 6 people in Palghar district of Maharashtra following the incident, the officials said on Wednesday, reported the PTI.
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According to the police, it was a hunting expedition by the group of villagers which allegedly went fatally wrong as one of them was shot dead by some other members, who allegedly mistook him for a wild boar in a forest area in Palghar district, as per the PTI..
One person was injured in the incident that took place in the night of January 28, they said, adding that at least six men have been detained in this connection.
Palghar's Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDPO) Abhijit Dharashivkar said the group of villagers had ventured into Borsheti forest area at Manor in the Palghar district for hunting of wild boars in the area.
"During the hunting expedition, some villagers got separated from the group. After some time, one of the hunters mistook them for wild boars and opened fire, hitting two villagers. One of them died on the spot, while the other sustained serious injuries," he said, according to the PTI.
Shocked and panicked by the alleged accidental killing, the group dragged the deceased person's body into the bushes and hid it instead of reporting about the incident to the police, the official said.
"After receiving a tip-off, the police conducted a detailed probe in the matter and detained six villagers who are suspected to be involved in the crime. After an extensive search on Wednesday, the authorities recovered the highly decomposed body of the victim and sent it for a postmortem examination to ascertain the exact cause of the death," Abhijit Dharashivkar said.
There are reports that the injured villager also succumbed to his wounds during treatment and his body has been cremated by the villagers without informing the authorities. However, the police are trying to ascertain it and conducting investigation into it, he said, adding that an FIR was being registered against the accused involved in the matter.
(with PTI inputs)
