Businessman Rana Suryavanshi was seriously injured in a machete attack near Baramati airport, according to police, prompting concern over security in the sensitive infrastructure zone and a demand from MP Supriya Sule for the immediate arrest of those responsible.
The attack took place at around 7.30 pm when two men allegedly approached Suryavanshi. According to the preliminary information reported by Lokmat, one of the attackers was carrying a revolver and the other had a machete. The attackers struck Suryavanshi with the machete, leaving him seriously injured.
Suryavanshi, the owner of Rana Shipping Company, was shifted to a private hospital in Pune for treatment. He is originally from Malegaon in Baramati taluka and has established a business presence after rising from a modest family background, the report said.
Additional Superintendent of Police Ganesh Biradar confirmed the incident to Lokmat. He said that the attackers had revolvers, but clarified that the assault on Suryavanshi was carried out with a machete. A Sub-Divisional Police Officer also reached the spot after the incident.
Reports of gunfire spread rapidly in the Baramati area after the attack. Police rejected those reports and said that Suryavanshi was not shot. The distinction is significant because the initial reports created uncertainty about the nature of the incident, while the police account identifies the machete attack as the confirmed method of assault.
The attack has drawn attention because it occurred near Baramati airport, an area described in the report as sensitive. Suryavanshi is also said to normally have security comparable to that provided to ministers. The incident has therefore raised immediate questions about how the attackers reached him despite the security around him and how access control operates in the airport area.
Sule expressed concern over the incident in a social media post and referred to reports of firing. She called on the Home Ministry to take immediate cognisance of the case, arrest the attackers and introduce concrete measures to protect citizens. Her statement came as police were dealing with conflicting accounts circulating in the area.
The police investigation will establish the identities and motive of the attackers, as well as how they accessed the area and whether the weapons allegedly carried by them were recovered. The immediate official next steps are the investigation at the scene, the collection of evidence and efforts to identify and arrest those responsible.
