First accused held in Rohit Phalke murder case

In a joint drive by the Pune and Sangli police, officials have arrested the first accused in the Rohit Phalke murder case.

The accused has been identified as Vishal Sajjan Phalke, 32, a resident of Hanuman Nagar in Ambegaon Khurd.

On December 12, a group of six individuals brutally attacked Phalke in Dalit Wasti of Waifal Tasgaon village in Sangli district.

Phalke was sitting with his two cousins, Aditya and Ashsih, when he was attacked. He saved himself and ran to his house nearby. The accused chased him and created terror in the locality by waving swords and guns in the air. But Rohit’s parents intervened and attacked the accused with weapons in which he and his family members were seriously injured.

A local police team rushed to the spot and shifted all the injured to the private hospital and while undergoing treatment, Phalke died.

Police said the murder was a result of old family rivalry between the victim and the accused. Both family members were previously engaged in an attack on each other.

The accused is a registered offender and was earlier booked by Tasgaon, Sangli, Sinhgad Road, Warje, Bibwewadi and Bharti Vidyapeeth police stations in cases of murder, attempt to murder and extortion.