Nagpur: A State Reserve Police Force (SRPF) personnel, Pankaj Thakur, 42, was hacked to death by a 23-year-old man late Thursday for opposing his teen daughter’s relationship with the assailant at Matoshree Nagar here. Pankaj, who was a driver with SRPF’s motor transport section since 2006, suffered critical injuries in his head and neck and bled to death. His cries for help were drowned in the ear-splitting Hanuman Jayanti celebrations in the neighbourhood.His brother-in-law, Arpit Singh Sengal, 30, who tried to save him suffered multiple stab wounds and is battling for life in hospital. The assailant, Akash Mandal, later dramatically landed at the MIDC police station to lodge a complaint against the SRPF personnel, but was tossed behind bars. Mandal’s mother, Pushpa, a clerk with rural police, and his elder brother, Harshit, were also arrested for being complicit in the crime.Key accused, Akash, was in a two-year romantic relationship with Pankaj’s 15-year-old daughter. Despite repeated warnings and strict instructions from Pankaj to stay away from the girl, Akash continued to meet her secretly, triggering tension between the families.On the night of the crime, a cultural programme for Hanuman Jayanti was in progress at the local shrine, where Pankaj’s daughter was performing. When Akash arrived at the venue and began talking to her, the SRPF cop accosted Akash and ordered him to leave immediately. A heated argument broke out, which turned into a scuffle. Pankaj slapped Akash multiple times.Furious after the confrontation, Akash rushed home, picked up a sharp iron bar from the parking area, and returned with a gang of armed associates. The group included his elder brother Harshit, their mother Pushpa and two minor accomplices.Pushpa summoned Pankaj to a desolate area, where the gang launched a coordinated attack. The cop was repeatedly stabbed with sharp weapons.When his brother-in-law, Arpit, rushed to shield his relative, the assailants inflicted serious injuries. Both collapsed in a pool of blood at the spot.Then Akash and his accomplices fled and reached the MIDC police station to lodge a complaint to mislead police. Residents informed police, who reached the spot promptly and rushed the injured persons to hospital. Doctors declared Pankaj dead on arrival.A case of murder was registered against Akash and four others. Akash, Harshit and their mother Pushpa. The trio is being interrogated to uncover the sequence of events and the role played by each in the crime.
