Mumbai: Two persons including an alleged
bookie have been arrested in connection with the attack on a
39-year-old RTI activist here in suburban Kandivali, police
said on Monday.
The two accused -- bookie Rakesh Rathod and his aide Rajesh
Nagaria -- were arrested from suburban Charkop area last night,
said Hareshwar Pimple, senior inspector at Kandivali police
station.
"Two more accused are still absconding," he said adding
all the four were booked under IPC Section 324 (voluntarily
causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means).
The victim Mehul Kataria was walking on the road on
Friday in Kandivali, when four persons, wielding a chopper
and hammer, started thrashing him.
The accused fled when people gathered on the spot.
Kataria was rushed to nearby Bhagwati hospital with injuries
on head and abdomen, police said.
The activist claimed that he had already requested for
police protection as he sensed threat from the bookies in the
area, after their operations were busted by police, following
a tip-off provided by him in January this year.
"The bookies and their associates held grudge against me
and had plans to attack me. I requested the police to provide
protection, but they did not pay heed to my request. I had
even moved the Bombay High court, seeking protection and the
court had directed the police to review my matter and going by
the threat perception, provide me security," Kataria said.
"But the local police did not look into the matter, as
they were hand-in-gloves with the bookies," Kataria alleged.
However, Pimple rubbished the allegations stating they
had never received any court orders in this regard.
PTI
