Neighbours' tiff morphs into Marathi v/s non-Marathi row

Three people were arrested in Kalyan for allegedly assaulting their neighbours on Wednesday evening, after their fight escalated into a 'Marathi v/s non-Marathi' tussle.

- NK Gupta

Videos of the incident went viral, and as the news spread across the state, it acquired a political hue.

An account manager at MTDC, Akhilesh Shukla, his wife and eight to 10 others are alleged to have attacked the Deshmukh family, their neighbours at the Ajmera Heights building in Yogidham, Kalyan, after they intervened in a fight between the Shuklas and another family over smoke from incense sticks outside the Shukla flat.

Shukla surrendered to the police on Friday after recording a video that explained his version of the incident. He claimed that he had reacted in self-defence. Two others arrested have been identified as Darshan Borade and Sumit Jadhav. The Khadakpada police have launched a manhunt for the other accused.

Among those injured in the fight were Dheeraj Deshmukh and Abhijit Deshmukh, brothers who live on the same floor as the Shuklas. Abhijit suffered head injuries in the assault and was sent to Sion hospital for medical treatment, where his condition stabilised and he was subsequently moved to a private hospital in Kalyan.

According to the complaint, at around 8.30pm, Geeta lit incense sticks outside her door. The smoke from the incense sticks disturbed their neighbours, the Kalvikattes, who complained about it.