On Saturday morning, 15th August, a routine disagreement between neighbours over garbage took a deadly turn in Kupwad, Sangli district of Maharashtra, leaving a 35-year-old woman dead and her husband seriously injured. Manisha Mohan Kesarekar was stabbed several times, while her husband, Mohan Nagappa Kesarekar, 45, suffered a serious head injury after being hit with a hammer by Farid Abdul Sheikh.
He is undergoing treatment in the ICU of a government hospital in Miraj.
The fight escalated within minutes
The incident took place at around 6 am in Vighnaharta Colony near Chanakya Chowk in Kupwad.
Police said Manisha was outside her house and lighting a wood-fired stove to heat water when her neighbour, Farid Abdul Sheikh, 52, dumped garbage on the road behind the house. Manisha objected to it, and the two began arguing.
When Mohan stepped in to settle the matter, Sheikh allegedly slapped him. Manisha then questioned Sheikh over the assault on her husband. The argument soon became violent.
A hammer and a knife were used in the attack
According to police, Sheikh went inside his house and returned with a hammer and a knife. He first attacked Mohan, hitting him on the head with the hammer and leaving him badly injured.
He then turned towards Manisha and stabbed her several times with the knife, including in the head and abdomen. She died from her injuries, while Mohan was rushed to hospital for treatment. Sheikh left the area on a bicycle immediately after the attack.
Police catch suspect in two hours
Following the incident, Superintendent of Police Tushar Doshi, Additional Superintendent of Police Kalpana Baravkar, Local Crime Branch Inspector Sanjeev Zade and Kupwad Police Station Assistant Inspector Anandrao Ghadge reached the scene.
The Sangli Local Crime Branch started looking for Sheikh and traced him to Wanlesswadi. He was detained within two hours of the incident. Police said he admitted to the crime during questioning before being handed over to Kupwad Police for further investigation.
The couple had two children
Manisha and Mohan lived in Vighnaharta Colony with their two children. Their daughter is in Class 11, while their son studies in Class 7.
The family originally belonged to Hebbal in Karnataka’s Belagavi district and had constructed their new house in Kupwad around nine to ten months ago.
Sheikh had been living alone next door for some time. He worked as a flooring mason, while Mohan was a mason and Manisha was a homemaker. Police are continuing their investigation into the case.
Victim’s kid narrates her ordeal
In a video shared by X user ‘Treeni’, the victim’s child could be heard saying, “The man’s opinion was that we should not live here at all. He would say that it was his area.”
Shaikh stabs Manisha to death, hammers her husband Mohan’s head. Mohan is about to die. Shaikh told them: “This place is mine. You don’t belong here.”
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She further added, “He began harassing us after we lived there. “
