A day after the pet dog of an alleged gangster reportedly snarled at a few youths who were playing cricket, a mob barged into his house and lynched him. The victim, Anil Pandey, 30, a resident of Bhandup West, was allegedly a former member of Kumar Pillai gang.

Seven persons have so far been arrested while a hunt is on for five others. “There were nearly 10 to 12 men in the mob. They attacked Pandey with swords, knives and even cricket stumps. Pandey’s wife Priya and daughters Anishka (3) and Joya (1), however, managed to save themselves,” said Inspector Siddheshwar Gove of Bhandup police station.

The accused have been identified as Sameer Chavan (21), Gautam Ghadge (25), Sagar Gavas (25), Sameer Kadam (26), Ravindra Wandre (22), Saurabh Khopde (18) and Shubham Bhosle (18). The police said they were charged with murder, trespassing and rioting under various Sections of the Indian Penal Code. Gove said Pandey was initially rushed to Agarwal Hospital in Mulund where he was declared dead on arrival. His body was later sent to Rajawadi Hospital in Ghatkopar for post-mortem. According to the police, the alleged assault took place at Durga Mata Chawl in Ram Nagar area of Bhandup West between 2.30 am and 2.45 am Sunday.

“On Saturday afternoon, Pandey had taken his pet Doberman, Kiwi, for a walk into the nearby forest area. A few youths from Matoshree Mitra Mandal in Bhandup Complex were playing cricket in the same area. But when their cricket ball strayed near Kiwi, she grabbed it and damaged it. She also bit the hand of one man who tried to pull it out of her mouth. The youth then began to argue with Pandey, who took Kiwi away,” said Gove.

Around 10.30 pm Saturday, there was another argument between the two parties. “Pandey was passing through a playground where the youngsters were sitting. A heated argument took place about the afternoon incident before Pandey went home,” Gove said.

Anil Pandey was accused of killing a security supervisor, Sunil Mahagade, in 2007. He had also allegedly opened fire outside the residence of Annu Manwani, a BJP corporator in Ulhasnagar. He was arrested by the Mumbai Police Crime Branch in 2008.

According to the police, Pandey was a member of gangster Kumar Pillai’s gang at that time.

“A number of attempt to murder cases and extortion had also been registered against him. However, after 2013, he did not commit any crime,” Gove said.

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