A late-night attack allegedly involving youths armed with sharp-edged weapons disrupted a Navratri garba gathering in Varap village near Kalyan, injuring one man and damaging parked vehicles, police said. Two adults have been arrested and a 17-year-old boy has been detained in connection with the incident.
The incident took place around 12.30am on October 19 at a garba ground opposite a Zilla Parishad school, where the local Sarvajanik Mahila Mandal was conducting a religious ceremony and residents were participating in garba. According to the complaint, a group of eight youths allegedly arrived from neighbouring Maharal village on three motorcycles and began abusing people, creating a disturbance and striking plastic chairs with sharp-edged weapons.
A video of the incident has circulated on social media. The footage purportedly shows the youths arriving while the event was under way, brandishing machete-like weapons and threatening people at the venue. Devotees, including women and families, were seen running in different directions as panic spread.
Police said the situation escalated when local residents intervened. One of the youths allegedly struck Chetan Pal on the head with a koyta, injuring him. The group allegedly also attempted to assault Rahul Gondhale, whose complaint led to the registration of the case. The attackers then allegedly vandalised parked cars and auto-rickshaws by smashing their windowpanes before fleeing towards Maharal.
The Titwala police have registered an offence against eight people. The named accused include Pratyush Jadhav, Vinayak Madhne, Roshan Choudhary, Dipesh Lokhande, Mahesh Jaiswar and Ayush Pandey. Police have arrested Jaiswar, 21, and Pandey, 19, while the minor was sent to a juvenile home.
Mukesh Dhage, senior police inspector at Titwala police station, confirmed the arrests and detention. “In this connection, we have arrested two accused and one minor who has been sent to a juvenile home,” he said.
The police case also refers to an alleged attempt to attack another resident, Nitin Choudhary, while the group was escaping. Officers are investigating the incident and working to trace the remaining accused named in the case.
The attack occurred at a public religious gathering attended by local residents and temporarily halted the celebrations. The police investigation, including efforts to identify and locate the remaining suspects, is continuing.
