Assault over urge to not spit

Pune: Four members of a family from Kalakhadak slums in Wakad were arrested on Tuesday on the charge of beating up their neighbour after the latter asked one of them to not spit on the road amid the coronavirus outbreak.

The Wakad police said the incident occurred on Monday afternoon and the family members were arrested following the complaint of the neighbour, Sachin Kamble (25), who suffered injuries in the assault.

“Around 2pm on Monday, Kamble was sitting outside his house when one of suspects spit in front of his door. Kamble requested him to not repeat the act in light of the growing coronavirus cases in the city,” an officer of the Wakad police said.

The reprimand infuriated the suspect who called his three relatives to his aide. “The suspects then thrashed Kamble with iron rods. They also beat up his relatives before ransacking his house,” the officer said, adding that the suspects had been arrested under the relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code.