Five held for firing inside hotel after argument over music

Thane, Nov 4 (PTI) Police have arrested five persons in connection with a clash that broke out following an argument over playing music at a hotel in Maharashtra's Thane district, in which one group fired at a rival member, police said on Wednesday.

The incident occurred in Sonale village along the Nashik-Mumbai Highway in Bhiwandi taluka during the intervening night of November 1 and 2, they said.

Addressing a press conference, Additional Superintendent of Police, Thane District Rural, Anmol Mittal, said the violent clash erupted between two rival groups who were dining at different tables inside Twisha Hotel near a petrol pump.

The altercation began when complainant Kunal Parshuram Patil and his associates objected to the opposing group, led by Sainath Appa Patil, dragging the restaurant's music sound system towards their table.

The heated argument quickly escalated, prompting Sainath to pull out a country-made pistol and open fire at Kunal.

Cross-complaints were later filed at the Bhiwandi Taluka police station in this connection.

Taking serious cognisance of the incident, senior officials inspected the crime scene and issued strict directives to track down the suspects.

Police apprehended and arrested five primary accused within eight hours of the operation.

The arrested individuals were identified as Jayesh Prakash Mhatre, Sainath Appa Patil, Prashant Prabhakar Waghe, Aniket Dattu Jadhav and Pankaj Premdas Gaikwad.

Police recovered the country-made pistol used in the crime along with two live cartridges from the accused.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)