Kohlapur: Police-ATS join hands to crack Sunday mass prayer meet attack

Kohlapur Police and Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) are working together to crack the Sunday mass prayer meet attack at Kowad village here. Five teams have been formed to nab those involved in the attack.

It is suspected that as many as 10-12 unidentified people were involved in the attack and they fled towards Belgaum in Karnataka. The police are focusing its search in the border areas of Belgaum and Kolhapur.

At least 12 people were injured when they were attacked by a group of people during the prayer meet at the residence of Bhimsen Chavan on the Karnataka border. About 40 people had joined the mass congregation for prayer.

According to the police, Chavan regularly conducts the Sunday prayer at his residence. This Sunday noon, a group of 10 to 15 masked men armed with swords, iron rods and glass bottles reached his residence on motorcycles and attacked the congregation and threw stones on those attending the prayer.

The masked men also tried to barge into the house. But some women, who were part of the prayer meeting forced the attackers to back off by throwing chilli powder on them.

The crime branch of the Kolhapur Police are working in close coordination and are in constant touch with Belgaum Police commissioner's office and Belgaum rural police to know the whereabouts of the accused.

"All accused had covered their faces with cloth, so they could not be identified. But locals have seen them fleeing towards Belgaum. So the police are focusing their search in the border areas of Belgaum and Kolhapur," said Kolhapur Superintendent of Police Abhinav Deshmukh.