As several bystanders watched, two men, with a long record in police files, allegedly beat up an 18-year-old commerce student Vinayak Shirke in Nardas Nagar, Bhandup (west) after he protested their attempts to bully him on Wednesday. Severely injured, Vinayak died in hospital later that day.
He was on his way for tuitions when Santosh Chauhan (28) and Mayur Shinde (30) attacked him with sticks near Sai Hill Medical shop on Tembhipada Road, eyewitnesses told the police. After the assault, both men sped away on a bike and are on the run.
Vinayak used to study at Nath Pai school and wanted to earn an MBA after graduation, according to R Kumar, a neighbour.
“He was bleeding profusely when he was brought home. When we took him to a nearby hospital, the staff refused to admit him,” said Chandrakant, Vinayak’s father who sells flowers in Wadala. “We then rushed him to KEM Hospital, where he died after a couple of hours.’’
Vinayak’s mother Rajni was in a state of shock and not in a position to speak when Newsline visited the family.
Police inspector SN Tadkar, investigating the case, said: “Vinayak was walking alone in the afternoon when the accused confronted him and passed some comments. When Vinayak protested, they attacked him with sticks.”
Tadkar said at least 10 bystanders remained mute spectators as the two men rained blows on the teenager.
Investigators identified the accused from details provided by eyewitness and rushed to their houses on Tembhipada road in Bhandup. But both had escaped.
Tadkar said cases of attempt to murder, robbery and extortion are registered against Chauhan and Shinde in Bhandup police station. They were out on bail and there had been complaints before that they used to harass people in the area.