Student abducted, beaten for befriending girl; 1 Arrested, 15 at large

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar

A student was kidnapped and brutally assaulted by a group of men on Saturday for befriending a girl from a different religion. The attackers abducted him from Beed Bypass Road, beat him for an hour at an unknown location, and later abandoned him.

After an FIR was filed, Satara police arrested 21-year-old Anas Akbar Jalaluddin Shaikh (Bari Colony), one of the key accused. PI Sangram Tathe of Satara Police Station confirmed that the court remanded him to police custody for two days.

Chilling ordeal of the victim

Parth Sonawale, an engineering student, had been followed for weeks by two students from his college. On Saturday at 4.15 pm, as he and his friend Prathamesh Salve headed home, they noticed the suspects tailing them. Sensing danger, they took an alternate route, but near Savera Hotel on Beed Bypass, the attackers blocked their bike. Within moments, a mob of 10 to 15 men arrived and mercilessly assaulted Parth. They forced him into a black SUV and took him to an unknown location, where the beatings continued. During the assault, one of the attackers warned that police had been alerted, forcing them to release Parth near Hamalwada, close to the railway station bridge. Terrified, Parth ran to Balaji Sweet Mart and called his mother. His uncle, Suresh Bahule, soon arrived with the police.

Massive manhunt underway

Police have registered a case at Satara Police Station and launched a search for the remaining 15 accused. PSI Dilip Bachate is leading the investigation.