Pune: An elderly man narrowly escaped death after being attacked with a rod over a dispute regarding 20 rupees given for a cigarette in Bhavani Peth.

The assailant, Ayan Rizwan Sheikh, also severely injured the victim's wife and went on a rampage, vandalizing vehicles and spreading terror in the area. The incident occurred on Thursday (July 11) evening around 7:30 PM.

The injured, Salim Abdul Qadir Sheikh (60 years old, resident of Gultekdi, behind Noorani Masjid), lodged a complaint at Khadak police station.

Based on this, Ayan Rizwan Sheikh (resident of Angarshaha Takiya, Bhavani Peth, Pune) has been arrested under IPC sections 109, 118(1), 351(2)(3), 324(4) along with the Criminal Law Amendment Act and Maharashtra Police Act sections 37(1), 134.

The police stated that the accused Ayan Sheikh is a criminal-on-police-record with four serious cases already registered against him at Khadak police station.

According to the police, the accused and the complainant are known to each other. On Thursday evening around 7:30 PM, the accused had a dispute with the complainant over 20 rupees given for a cigarette.

Ayan hit Salim on the head with a rod, but as Salim dodged the blow, the rod hit his leg and fell to the ground.

The accused then picked up the rod and, threatening to kill Salim, struck his head, causing severe injury to Salim’s hand as he tried to block the blow.

The accused also attacked Salim’s wife with the rod, injuring her. He then brandished the rod in the air, declared himself the local don, and threatened to kill anyone who challenged him, before vandalizing the parked vehicles by breaking their windows. The police are conducting further investigations.