RPI(Athavale) leader stabbed to death at Pune bar

PUNE: State executive president of the Republican Party of India (Athavale)'s Kaamgar Aghadi (workers front) Anil Maruti More was allegedly brutally stabbed to death with sharp weapons by two assailants at a bar in Moshi around 9.30pm on Wednesday.

The duo fled after the murder, leaving behind an injured More (46), who was from Kuruli in Khed taluka. The incident led to panic in the area.

Assistant commissioner of police Sudhakar Yadav (Bhosari MIDC division) told TOI: "Prima facie, the murder seems to be the fallout of personal enmity. There is no political angle. We have ascertained the identities of the alleged killers and will arrest them soon."

On Thursday morning, the police examined CCTV camera footage and probed other clues to identify the assailants. Simultaneously, many RPI activists gathered outside the mortuary to express anger and threatened with an agitation if the killers were not apprehended soon. They said the body would not be received till the assailants were nabbed.

Senior police inspector Ganesh Jamdar of the Bhosari MIDC police told TOI: "The body was handed over to More's relatives after the post-mortem. There was no law and order issue." The last rites were supposed to be conducted in the evening.

More's driver Nagnath Chate (43) of Kuruli has lodged a complaint with the Bhosari MIDC police.

The politician was part of the realty business and would operate in Pune rural areas. He was actively involved in RPI (A) activities and was the state executive president of the workers front.

An officer of the Pimpri Chinchwad police said, "On Wednesday, More was himself driving his SUV since his driver, the complainant, was away for some work. At night, More drove to the Moshi bar and restaurant, where he was attacked."

The officer said that according to Chate, a party officebearer called him some time after 9.30pm and said something serious had happened at the bar. The complainant reached the spot and found More lying soaked in blood in front of the cash counter.

"The complainant took More to a nearby hospital, where he succumbed to the injuries in the early hours of Thursday," he said, adding that the politician was stabbed in the stomach and had received blows to his face and left leg.

"Chate claimed that More was conscious on the way to the hospital. He told the driver that two men had assaulted him and he suspected the involvement of a man from Pune district with whom there existed an earlier dispute. The said man had threatened More with dire consequences recently," the officer added.

Yadav said the police have fanned out five teams to trace the assailants. "Our investigations are on," he added.