Three members of a family were stabbed to death, 2 injured by a man in Nashik

Three members of a family, including a teenaged girl, were stabbed to death by a man in Shirdi, who was apparently mentally unstable, police said on Sunday.

Two persons were also injured in the incident that took place at Nimgaon village in Shirdi temple town of Nashik district on Saturday, a senior police official Somnath Wakchoure said.

The accused, Arjun Panhale (50), who was apparently not mentally sound, had a tiff with a family residing in his neighbourhood over some cleanliness issue outside his house, he said.

On Saturday, the accused went to his neighbour's house and attacked three persons there with a sharp grass-cutting tool, killing them on the spot, the official said.

The deceased were identified as Namdev Thakur (62), his wife Dagubai Thakur (50) and daughter Khushi Thakur (16).

Two other persons received injuries when they tried to save their family members and were undergoing treatment at a local hospital, the official said.

Arjun Panhale, who worked as a plumber, was arrested and the weapon used in the crime was seized, he said, adding that some paper clippings of crime news, rotten fruits and empty plastic bottles were found in his house.

A case of murder was registered against the accused, he said.