Mistaken for 'prey', man shot dead by friends during hunting trip in Maharashtra

MUMBAI: A hunting trip in Palghar's Manor forest turned tragic when a man was shot dead by one of his 12 companions who mistook him for a prey.
The incident took place on Jan 29, but remained unreported till the deceased's wife lodged a missing person complaint with Manor police on Monday, leading to the arrest of nine of the men. Manor police said they are looking for the remaining three accused who are on the run.
Senior inspector of Manor police station Ranvir Bayes said a group of 12 men from Borsheti village went to the nearby forest to hunt wild animals on Jan 28, around 3.30pm. They also invited Ramesh Vartha (60), who agreed to join them the next morning.
Ramesh entered the forest on Jan 29, around 6am, and walked through the bushes towards his friends, who were already spread out. Assuming that an animal was approaching them, Kelva resident Sagar Hadal (28), who had a country-made rifle, opened fire in the direction.
The bullet hit Ramesh who died on the spot. On realising their mistake, the men panicked, dumped the body in the nearby bushes and returned to their village.
When Ramesh did not come back from the hunting trip for five days, his wife Amita (55) approached police on Monday.
During investigation, police questioned nine of the villagers who had gone on the Jan 28 hunt — Hadal, Siddhu Bhutkade (52), Bhavesh Bhutkade (28), Eknath Bhutkade (42), Shantaram Bhutkade (65), Vishal Gharat (31), Madhya Vavre (49), Vaman Parhad (65), and Dinesh Vadhali (42), all residents of Borsheti — and they allegedly confessed to the crime.
Police recovered Ramesh's body from the forest and registered a first information report against the 12 men on charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Ramesh's body has been sent for a post-mortem examination, police said.
According to a police source, most of the arrested accused would often go to the nearby forested areas in Palghar and illegally hunt wild animals like wild boars, rabbits, and deer. They would usually lay a trap near water bodies, as animals frequent these spots, the police source added.