An old woman was torched by three men for allegedly not voting for the candidate she was asked to vote in Yeola constituency of Nashik district. The incident occurred on Thursday, October 16, 2014 night, a day after the polling was held for the assembly elections. Three persons have been arrested and remanded to police custody in this case.

Among the three accused, Ashok Bornare is an ex-servicemen while the other two are farmers from the village. The name of NCP candidate Chhagan Bhujbal was listed on number two position and while that of Shiv Sena candidate Sambhaji Pawar was listed on number on the EVM. The main fight in Yeola is in between Bhujbal and Pawar.

According to the complaint filed with Yeola police, Zelubai Wabale, 65 years a resident of Babhulgaon, three kms from Yeola had gone to vote on polling day October 15, 2014. She was asked to press button no 3 on the electronic voting machine by the three accused who met her on her way. However, they had come to know that she had pressed button no 2 on the electronic voting machine. They threatened to kill her and throw her in the river.

Next day on October 16, 2014, while Zelubai was sitting out side her house on the veranda at around 8 pm, the accused namely, Ashok Bornare, Pamdurang Bornare and Nandakishore Bhurak, approached her and had a verbal brawl for not pressing the button she was told. Ashok Bornare then poured kerosene from the can he was carrying and his brother Pandurang Bornare threw a burning match stick on her. The third accused Pandurang Bhurak prevented her from running away. Hearing her shouts, a relative Santosh Garge who lives near by came to help and tried to douse the fire by putting a blanket on her. He informed her daughter, who then admitted Zelubai to Yeola rural hospital. Zelubai has given her statement to the Yeola police.

She was shifted to Nashik civil hospital at midnight and has suffered 80% burn injuries.

The Yeola police arrested three accused Ashok Bornare (38), Pandurang Bornare (45) and Nandkishor Bhurak (40), all residents of Babhalgaon under sections 307 (attempt to murder) and 506 (punishment for criminal intimidation) of the Indian Penal Code. The three were arrested from their respective residences, police said. They were produced before the Yeola court which remanded them to police custody till October 20, 2014.

Bringing a twist in the tale, son of the victim Raghunath Wabale, who stays away from her at Chandgaon in Vaijapur village, 25 kms from Babhulgaon said that the inicident was an accident and his mother was not torched but sustained burn injuries while she was cooking in the house. Speaking to media persons at civil hospital he said, “My mother is not in proper condition and is wrongly taking names of people who came to save her. There is no point in involving innocent villagers in the case”.

Police said that there was some talk of victim wanting to retract her statement. “The statement of the victim, Zelubai has been recorded and an FIR has been registered. We will investigate the matter and the truth will preceed. Retracting or changing the statement will not change the investigation that will take place. Police investigation will take place in its own course”, stated superintendent of police, Nashik, Sanjay Mohite.