Goemkarponn desk
VASCO: Shocked after the brutal killing of his friend, a survivor and eyewitness of the murder recalls the horrific incident saying he ran to save his own life.
Speaking to the media at the Chicalim Sub District Hospital, the survivor and eyewitness Ashok Chalvadi said that as soon as the gang approached Umesh Harijan, he ran away from the site and watched his friend being murdered brutally from far away.
Narrating the whole incident, Ashok said he had accompanied Umesh to the temple for prasad (afternoon lunch).
“As soon as we left from temple and started our bike, the gang attacked him (pillion rider) from behind,” he said.
Ashok said that they first kicked him from the back, and when he went to save him, they attacked him too.
He said that there were around five to six people with swords, knives and koyta.
“Fearing for my life, I ran to save my life from there. As I turned back and saw they started stabbing him brutally. They even chopped his finger and leg as well,” he said.
The attack was so bad that the weapons were also broken in the process.
He claimed that he called Umesh’s brother, cops and an ambulance, which did not come.
“We shifted him to the hospital in his car where he was declared dead,” said Ashok.
Umesh’s brother Iqbal Harijan claimed that he was also attacked earlier by the same group a few months ago.
“They came with swords to attack me, but I survived as I was able to escape from the scene. Otherwise, I would have been dead today,” he said.
Iqbal says the police did not act against the accused despite filing two complaints.
Another person Santosh Pujari informed that the same accused had even attacked a few persons in the Vasco market.
“The accused attacked us earlier without reason and also damaged my bike, and I escaped with injuries on hand,” said Pujari.
