Pune: Baner police recently arrested three men on the charge of hacking their friend to death over a misunderstanding on Oct 11 at Sutarwadi.The three arrested suspects have been identified as Ashish Chakranarayan (30) and his accomplices, Somnath Gaikwad (38) and Pankaj Kudale (35).Following the incident, Baner police registered a case of attempted murder against the three suspects under Section 109 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). The victim, Sahadev Sharma (33), a resident of Sus Road, later succumbed to his injuries during treatment. The police subsequently added Section 103 (murder) in the case.Ganesh Raikar, assistant inspector of Baner police, said Chakranarayan, the main suspect, and Sharma were friends. Chakranarayan had lent Rs 3 lakh to another friend, and the latter was not returning the money. Sharma had been mediating between the two.“Chakranarayan, however, thought Sharma had used abusive language against his mother and sister in some conversations and misunderstood it. He then threatened Sharma with dire consequences,” Raikar said.The officer said late on the night of Oct 11, Chakranarayan approached Sharma in Pashan and asked him to come to a ground at Sutarwadi for a discussion. When Sharma reached the ground, Chakranarayan and his two other accomplices allegedly abused and attacked Sharma with sharp weapons over the same issue. The trio then dragged him to a footpath, assaulted him further and fled on a motorcycle.“We have been tracing them since the incident happened. Recently, a tip-off was received that the trio had come to Pashan. We laid a trap and arrested them. Our investigation is underway,” Raikar said.
