Villager killed after dispute in Thane; hunt on for accused

Thane, May 23 (PTI) A man has allegedly killed a 55-year-old villager following an old dispute in Maharashtra’s Thane district, police said on Thursday.

The incident took place at Pacchapur village in Bhiwandi area on Wednesday and a search was on for the accused, inspector B R Kumbhar from Padgha police station said.

The deceased and the accused had a dispute over some land issues. They again had a quarrel over it on Tuesday and the victim then beat up the accused, he said.

On Wednesday afternoon, the accused caught hold of the victim and allegedly thrashed him with wooden logs, the official said.

The victim collapsed and died on the spot, he said.

The body was later sent to a government hospital for postmortem.

Based on a complaint by the deceased’s son, the police on Thursday registered an FIR against the accused under Indian Penal Code section 302 (murder) and efforts were on to trace him, the official said.