Pune: Three members of a family were allegedly hacked to death by a gang of unidentified people, suspected to be dacoits, in Badhane village in the district in the wee hours today, the police said.
Two members of the family, including a woman and her six-year-old daughter, were injured in the attack.
The deceased are identified as Nathu Phale (65), his wife Chababai (60) and their son Atrinandan (30).
The injured are identified as Tejashree (25), wife of Atrinandan, and their daughter Ishwari (6), a police official said.
“The incident took place between 1 am and 4 am, when Nathu, Chababai, and Atrinandan were sleeping in one room and Tejashri and her three daughters were sleeping in another room,” said a station duty officer of Talegaon MIDC police station.
He said that Nathu, Chababai, Atrinandan were attacked with sharp weapons on their heads.
The dacoits also attacked Tejashree, the officer said, adding that Ishwari sustained injuries as she was pushed.
“After the attack, the dacoits decamped with gold ornaments and cash,” he said.
Tejashree, who fell unconscious after she was attacked, regained consciousness after some time and found her husband and in-laws lying in a pool of blood. She also found her daughter unconscious, following which she alerted the police with the help of her neighbours.
A case has been registered under sections 396 (dacoity with murder) and 397 (robbery, or dacoity, with attempt to cause death or grievous hurt) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) against the dacoits.
“A manhunt has been launched to trace them,” the officer said.
—PTI