Murder of pro-prohibition activist rocks district

YAVATMAL: Police have arrested five persons in connection with the murder of police patil Virendra Rathod (55), a pro-prohibition activist. The sixth accused is still at large.
According to SP Akhilesh Kumar Singh, Rathod of Yavli (Izhara) village, over 35km from the city, was intercepted by miscreants while he was returning on his bike after settling the issues pertaining to prohibition in the village.The miscreants attacked Virendra with stones and he died on the spot on Thursday. His body was noticed by villagers on Friday.
Virendra was in favour of total prohibition. There was a quarrel between the supporters and opponents of prohibition in the Yavli Kolam area. The women approached Wadgaon (Jungle) police station to protect them from the drunkards and the hooch makers of the village. But due to lack of police action, the villagers called a meeting to settle the issues in which Virendra was invited to mediate. Virendra intervened and the quarrel was settled. On his way back home, the drunken six miscreants attacked him as revenge.
Virendra left behind his wife, daughter and son. The funeral was held in the village on Saturday and was attended by district guardian minister Sanjay Rathod, SP Akhilesh Kumar Singh and district collector Sachindra Pratap Singh.
Rathod reiterated his earlier stand favouring prohibition and said that the district planning council had recently adopted a unanimous resolution in favour of the demand for prohibition in the district.
Accordingly, the cops launched a combing operation and nabbed five accused, Mahadev Tekam (30), Doma Shivankar (30), Bhagvan Shivankar (50), Hussain Atram (35) and Shankar Adinkar (32), all residents of Yavli. The sixth accused, Kailash Pawar, is absconding.