Palghar, February 22 A 31-year-old man was stabbed and stoned to death by a group of men on a busy road in Palghar district, Maharashtra, in an incident related to gang violence, police said on Sunday.
Police have taken one person into custody, and a search is underway for several others involved in the gruesome killing that took place in the Nalasopara area late 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, claiming they wanted cigarettes, he said.
"The accused dragged Mishra out and launched a violent attack using knives and heavy stones," he said.
Mishra sustained serious injuries and was rushed to a nearby hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries around midnight, the official said.
According to preliminary investigations, the dispute between the victim and the accused began at a local bar, he said, adding that the killing may have been a result 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 area, prompting a heavy police presence to maintain law and order.