Thane: Food stall owner set on fire over dispute

Thane, Sep 9: A 40-year-old food stall owner sustained critical burns while two others were seriously injured in an alleged attack by a group of persons in Thane's Ulhasnagar township, police said today.

The accused last night attacked the victims Ramprasad Gupta (owner of a roadside egg stall) and Babu Kulal (62) and his son Santosh (33) (both of whom ran a grocery shop) upon a suspicion that they had complained to police about them in connection with some issue, said senior inspector KD Jadhav of Ulhasnagar police.

It was at around 10.30 P.M. when 7-8 persons, one of whom was identified as Yogesh Shinde, allegedly attacked the trio with swords and other weapons in the Hanuman Tekadi area of Ulhasnagar, added sub-inspector ML Pandav.

The assailants are also alleged to have caught hold of Gupta and set him on fire after dousing him with petrol. Gupta got badly burnt while Kulal and his son suffered serious injuries to their hands, Pandav said.

The three victims were later admitted to hospital where Gupta's condition is stated to be critical, he added. A case has been registered under Sections 307 (attempt to murder), 326 (voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means), 436 (mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to destroy house, etc), 143, 147 (rioting), 148, 149 and 427 of IPC and also under the relevant provisions of the Arms Act and Bombay Police Act, the SI said.

Efforts are on to track down the accused, police said.

PTI