We are dons’: minors brandish sickles in Ramnagar, detained

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar

Shouting “We are dons,” a group of minors allegedly took to the streets with a sickle in Ramnagar around 1 pm on February 4, threatening women and schoolchildren and highlighting growing crime and substance abuse in the area. The process of registering an offence was underway on Thursday night.

According to locals, two minors aged 17 and 16, Akash and Rupesh (names changed), along with six to seven others, had been roaming the locality with weapons and were allegedly addicted to intoxicants. On Wednesday, near a grocery shop, the group reportedly pulled out a sharp sickle, abused and threatened passers-by, and fled after hiding the weapon in a school bag when a citizen tried to film them.

English-medium school students among accused

Alarmed residents informed corporator Manoj Gangwe, who contacted Mukundwadi police station inspector Sachin Ingole. Police detained both minors on Thursday; the house of the boy who concealed the sickle was found locked. Of the four involved, two are students of a reputed English-medium school. Seventeen-year-old Akash had earlier lived in Mumbai, and his physically disabled father runs an egg-bhurji cart in the area.

Criminal tendencies on the rise

Locals said criminal activity is rising in Ramnagar, Sanjaynagar and Mhada Colony. During Diwali in October 2025, a youth, Vipul Chabukswar, was hacked to death in the same area. Eight days ago, another youth was stabbed and robbed of Rs 27,000 in Ramnagar. Residents also pointed to frequent gatherings of addicts near the municipal toilet at the Ramnagar entrance.

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