Thane, Jun 11 (PTI) A man allegedly killed a 50-year-old friend with a sickle and then fled from the spot in Maharashtra's Thane district in the early hours of Wednesday, police said.
The motive behind the incident, which took place at Murde village in Bhayander, was yet to be ascertained, they said.
The victim had come to live with the 36-year-old accused a few days ago, Bhayander police station's senior inspector Rajendra Kamble said.
Preliminary investigation suggests the victim was attacked with a sickle at the accused's residence, he said.
Some neighbours, upon hearing loud noises, rushed to the spot and found the victim lying motionless in a pool of blood. The accused fled from the scene brandishing the weapon before anyone could stop him, the official said.
"At this stage, we are yet to ascertain the exact reason behind the incident," he said.
A case was registered against the accused under section 103(1) (murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and efforts were on to trace him.
The body was sent to a government hospital for postmortem, the police added.