Sena activist stabbed to death

February 18: Forty-year-old former Shiv Sena shakha pramukh and an active party member Subhash Pundlik Damre was stabbed to death, right out...

February 18: Forty-year-old former Shiv Sena shakha pramukh and an active party member Subhash Pundlik Damre was stabbed to death, right outside his residence at BIT Chawl, Parel, this afternoon.

According to eye-witnesses, an unidentified visitor called on Damre’s residence at 3.30 pm and summoned him outside saying he wanted to speak to Damre in private. Damre seemed acquainted with him as the two were seen talking near Sai Baba Mandir at Vithal Chavan Road for quite some time, said eye-witnesses.

Even as they were busy in conversation, three other men joined them and assaulted Damre with chopper and knives. The quartet inflicted multiple injuries on his head, chest, abdomen and arms. As Damre fell down the assailants escaped in a waiting cab. Witnesses said that the profusely bleeding Damre collapsed and died on the spot.

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Damre’s killing is the second killing of a Shiv Sena leader within a month. Earlier, Manohar alias Manya Jingare, a close confidante of Shiv Sena’s regional chief, Dagdu Sakpal,was shot dead at Lalbaug by the Suresh Manchekar gang on January 16. Damre had contested civic elections on a Sena ticket in 1992. He lost to Arun Tare of the Congress (I). The police however has a slightly different version of today’s killing. They say that at 3.15 pm some unidentified men attacked Damre with chopper and fled after severely injuring him. Damre had collapsed on the ground losing consciousness. His neighbour Ramesh Londhe, who was first to spot him in a pool of blood, rushed Damre to the KEM Hospital for treatment. Even while the bleeding Damre was being treated the doctors declared him dead.

The news of the killing spread tension in the Bhoiwada, Parel and Lalbaug area as shopkeepers downed their shutters. The nearby Shirodkar market immediately wore a deserted look while the shopkeepers kept their shops closed till late evening. Damre, a close friend of Shiv Sena’s slain member of legislative assembly, Vithal Chavan who was gunned downin 1992, was supposed to leave for the annual fair inAngnewadi, Ratnagiri by the 5 pm train.

Usually, Damre would be surrounded by at least 10-12 Shiv Sainiks who doubled up as his bodyguards. However, since all the party activist had left early on Tuesday for Angnewadi Damre was left alone. Though gangs of Suresh Manchekar, Guru Satam and Arun Gawli were active in the area, Damre was said to harbour animosity towards the Gawli. The senior police officers were non-committal on the incident.