Team Herald
MAPUSA: The alleged accused attackers had no previous enmity nor did they know the victims but a minor altercation led to the brutal attack on the Anjuna saw mill operator, his family members and workers, which has put the Patel family into distress.
Talking to Herald, Bharat Patel, son of Manilal Patel, informed that they met the attackers for the first time and had never come in their contact before the incident.
Patel, whose father is in critical condition and undergoing treatment in a private hospital at Mapusa, further said that the attackers had come with the intension to kill them.
“The attackers had come with an axle and rod of the vehicle when they came to attack us the second time. All of them were drunk and were not in position to understand or compromise,” Patel said.
“I, my father and uncle tried to compromise when they came to the mill for the second time but they were not in a position to listen to anything. First time, when the three came to enquire about the price of wood my uncle told them the market price was Rs 11,000. However, they directly asked the same at half the price to which my uncle said these are not vegetables to get at half price and went inside the cabin. They followed him to his cabin and slapped him. Seeing this my father came and intervened and told them to leave. But instead of compromising, they came back with more people and directly attacked us,” Patel said.
It may be recalled that last Wednesday, Anjuna Police had arrested eight persons and a minor was also apprehended for assaulting a saw mill operator, his son, brother and two mill workers at Chivar, Anjuna.
Manilal Ravji Patel, his son Bharat Manilal Patel, brother Dayalal Rauji Patel and two employees of the mill were allegedly assaulted by nine people including the minor with bamboo and wooden sticks. This incident was captured in CCTV camera installed at the mill.
