Customer slashes paan-seller’s throat in Mumbai's busy Pant Nagar

Manoj Chaurasia, a paanseller, was brutally attacked by Naresh Keni, one of his regular customers, on a busy street in Pant Nagar, in Ghatkopar East, on Tuesday morning. Keni is now under arrest. According to shopkeepers in the area, Keni was formerly employed at the Jai Ma Sitla juice stall nearby, and whiled away his time at Pant Nagar. Yesterday morning, Keni visited Chaurasia’s shop, and asked for gutkha and beedis.He told Chaurasia that he would pay for it later. When Chaurasia refused, an enraged Keni picked up a machete used for peeling sugarcane from an adjoining juice stall, dragged him out of his shop and slashed Chaurasia’s throat to the horror of bystanders and other road users. A few onlookers tried unsuccessfully to get in touch with police control, while others attempted to reach the 108 Ambulance Service to take Chaurasia to Rajawadi Hospital.
Even as other road users tried to overpower Keni, Ashok Ahire, a cobbler who operates on the same street, called up a beat constable who was known to him and was patrolling the area, and informed him about the incident. Keni tried to make a run for it on seeing the constables, but the police apprehended him with the help of people in the area.
Keni told the police that he was a Muslim, and that he was being harassed by Chaurasia on account of his religion. He also said that the paan seller had threatened to get him thrashed by goons. But the police later found that he was lying, and they also said that he had admitted to slashing Chaurasia’s throat. Police said that Keni’s behaviour appeared to be the product of an unstable mind. Chaurasia was taken to Rajawadi hospital in a police van, and 21 stitches were administered on his throat. By noon, deputy commissioner of police Rajesh Pradhan asked the Pant Nagar police and BMC to act against the illegal stalls, including Chaurasia’s shop and the Jai Mata Sitla stall. Staffers from BMC’s N ward demolished Chaurasia’s shop, but left the juice stall alone since it was locked up. Milind Phanse, a resident of Building no. 182 in Pant Nagar, said that the police showed promptness in arresting the accused. He added that they should also stop anti-social elements from congregating at the nearby Arun Kumar Vaidya Maidan.