Man in Pune’s Sus mediating financial dispute between 2 friends killed in billhook attack

Pune: A 33-year-old man from Sus was killed after allegedly being attacked with a billhook while mediating a financial dispute between two friends in Pashan late on Sunday night.“Sahadev Ramprakash Sharma died while undergoing treatment on Monday morning. The assault took place in front of the ITI ground in Pashan around 11.30pm on Sunday,” senior inspector of Baner police Chandrashekar Sawant told TOI.Sharma’s brother, Krishna (36), lodged a complaint at the Baner police station on Monday. Police have registered a murder case against three people, including Sharma’s friend, who works as a private vehicle driver on call. Along with the two other accused, he fled the spot after the attack.Police said Sharma was involved in share trading. One of his friends had borrowed Rs 3 lakh from the driver a few days ago, leading to a dispute over repayment. Both were friends with Sharma, who stepped in to mediate, police said.A disagreement during discussions allegedly escalated after Sharma abused the driver. Sawant said, “This enraged the driver, who called Sharma to meet him near the ITI ground. The driver and two of his friends reached the spot armed with a billhook.”“They assaulted Sharma with the billhook and dragged him to the footpath. They left him there and fled. Passers-by alerted police, and Sharma was taken to a private hospital where he died,” Sawant said, adding that it was a pre-planned attack.Police are searching for the assailants.