Man runs cousin over with tractor

Incident took place in Junnar; the deceased was trying to convince the accused against forcing people to rent his vehicle to farmers

In a shocking incident in Junnar, a man crushed his cousin under the tractor after a minor dispute. The accused felt that his cousin was misguiding people over renting his tractor for agriculture, thus leading to loss of income. A case has been registered in Junnar police station and the accused arrested.

According to police, the incident took place in the Eknaathwadi village. The deceased, Prakash Namdev Mansukh, was run over. His sibling, Sanjay, gave a complaint.

Prakash and Sanjay were at a tea stall when accused Jaydev Mansukh approached them and initiated a squabble. When tempers flared, Jaydev ran his tractor over Prakash, causing serious injuries. The locals took him to the hospital immediately. Jaydev fled the spot after the incident, which took place at 4 pm on Monday. He was caught later.

Sanjay said, “During the argument, Prakash told Jaydev that he cannot force people to rent his tractor (for farm-related work) exclusively. He said that threatening villagers to only use his facilities is unfair as he (Jaydev) is not the don of the village. Angered City Wednesday, November 4, 2020 5 with the confrontation, Jaydev started the tractor and ran it over Prakash. He was taken to a rural hospital and then to Sassoon hospital, where, on Tuesday, he breathed his last.”

Chandu, who is an eyewitness of the incident, said it was shocking to witness the crime unfold. He added that accused Jaydev would often harass people into renting his tractor for agriculture. “During the lockdown, people were unable to pay the high rates he demanded and thus, subscribed to other people’s vehicles. It prompted Jaydev to issue more threats,” he said, adding, “A lot of people have time and again complained about Jaydev’s conduct to Prakash, who often tried to convince his cousin against threatening people. Jaydev would pay no heed to the advice. On Monday, he was in no mood to listen. Thus, the minor dispute took a serious turn. Jaydev ran over Prakash two to three times before fleeing the spot.”

Sub-inspector Dnyaneshwar Bedare of Junnar police station elaborated further about the scenario. For a very long time, Jaydev was the only person in the village with a tractor which he rented out. During the lockdown, another person bought atractor. The rent prospects beckoned many of Jaydev’s customers. His income was affected, propelling him to threaten people.

“Two weeks ago, he barged into a farm and demanded that they use his tractor. Prakash was called to intervene — he specified that the high rent did not work in his favour and that, he cannot force people. However, Prakash had also used Jaydev’s tractor for which, he was to pay Rs 10,000 in rent. During their argument on Monday, Jaydev brought up the pending amount and accused his cousin of misguiding people,” he said.

Police inspector, Yuvraj Mohite said that Jaydev had been booked under section 307 (attempt to murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). When Prakash succumbed to his wounds at Sassoon, cops altered the case and charged Jaydev with section 302 (murder) of the IPC. He was arrested and the matter is being investigated.