Thane Crime: Goons fire at builder, kill bodyguard instead

Vicky Sharma and his boss Amit Patil were on their way to a trek

A 30-year-old bodyguard of a Dombivli builder died on Wednesday after being shot by two bike-borne assailants, who wanted to target his boss. While the accused remain unknown and at large, the Manpada police have registered a case and found that the original target was the builder.

The assailants mistakenly fired at the bodyguard Vicky Sharma, who was talking on the phone. Sharma used to work for builder and Shiv Sena member Amit Patil. The incident occurred on Wednesday afternoon when Sharma and Patil were on their way to a trek.

"They were standing near the Kathai Naka in Manpada. Sharma was speaking to someone on the phone, when the two assailants came on a motorcycle. The pillion rider fired a round that hit Sharma on the back of his head. He was then rushed to a private hospital in Dombivli where he succumbed to his injuries," said a police officer from Manpada police station.

Namdev Patil, Amit's father said, "My son had helped Shiv Sena candidate Shrikant Shinde during the Lok Sabha elections that he ended up winning. After this, local members of other political parties wanted to take revenge. Their main target was my son, but luckily he survived and his bodyguard was injured and later declared dead. This is political revenge."

Sharad Shelar, additional commissioner of police, west region said, "The two assailants are unknown and we are tracing them. The reason for the attack is not yet known." Narayan Deshmukh, inspector from the Manpada police station said, "We have registered a murder case and are looking for the accused."