Dhule (Maharashtra), Jul 20 (IANS): A gangster was hacked to death by a rival gang in full public view in Maharashtra and the entire incident was recorded on CCTV, the footage of which has gone viral, the police said on Thursday.
The disturbing CCTV footage was leaked on Wednesday evening after it was taken into police custody. A separate probe has been launched to investigate as to how the footage of the crime, recorded by a camera in a neighbouring building, got leaked.
The incident took place on Tuesday around 6.15 a.m. when the 33-year-old gangster, Rafiuddin Shaikh alias Guddya, had gone for a morning walk by the river bank.
"After the walk, he stopped by for a cup of tea at a popular stall when at least 10 members of a rival gang suddenly barged inside the shop and shot at him with a country-made revolver," said an official of Dhule Police Control, refusing to be identified.
Incapacitated by the bullet, Shaikh fell down and the assailants pounced on him with swords, hockey sticks and curved swords and began dragging him out of the tea shop.
While pulling him out, the mob attacked Shaikh as blood mixed with rainwater started flowing on the footpath and the road, shows the CCTV footage.
As Shaikh lay there motionless, at least one man kept attacking him till he was pulled away by an associate. All of them fled before police reached the spot.
Of the 10 attackers, the police have established the identities of seven who are on the run. A manhunt has been launched, the officer added.
The attackers have been identified as Vilas Goyar, his sons Vicky Goyar, Shyam Goyar and Vijay Goyar, their associates Rajendra Devare, Bhima Devare, Dadu Devare.
Shaikh, who was out on bail, had several cases pending against him of extortion, attempt to murder, rape and murder in several districts of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, the official said.
The prime suspect, the Goyar family, is considered equally notorious in Dhule with its involvement in several crimes and an old rivalry with Shaikh.