A 56-year-old police sub-inspector was killed after a man he was chasing during a night patrol in Thane allegedly pushed him to the ground and struck him on the back of his head with a cement brick late Wednesday, police said. The accused, who allegedly fled after the attack, was subsequently chased down and arrested by another police team.

The incident took place around 11 pm on September 24 on Pokhran Road No. 2, where PSI Kisan Kamlakar Bhoir of Chitalsar police station was patrolling with Police Constable Ghute and other personnel as part of security arrangements for the Ganpati festival.

Police identified the arrested accused as Raju Premkumar Valmiki, 30, a resident of Gandhinagar in Thane. Police said he has several previous theft cases registered against him.

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According to police, the patrol team noticed a crowd near a paan stall, where Valmiki was allegedly creating a commotion. When Bhoir asked the stall owner to shut the shop, Valmiki allegedly intervened and began arguing with the officers.

Police personnel then put Valmiki in their patrol vehicle and began taking him towards the police station. On the way, police said, Valmiki questioned why he was being taken away and allegedly abused and slapped Bhoir before pushing him.

Valmiki then allegedly jumped out of the slowly moving police vehicle and ran towards the paan stall. Bhoir got down and chased him, while Ghute stopped the vehicle and followed to assist him.

Bhoir caught up with Valmiki near the City Flow bus stop, where the accused allegedly pushed him to the ground.

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“He picked up a cement brick lying nearby and hit Bhoir on the back of his head before fleeing into a nearby lane,” a police officer said.

Ghute found Bhoir unconscious and bleeding from the head and alerted the police control room. Beat Marshal personnel Nilesh Pawar and Bhosale, who were patrolling nearby, reached the spot and chased Valmiki into a lane before apprehending him, police said.

Meanwhile, Ghute, with the help of passers-by, rushed Bhoir to Titan Hospital in Manpada. Doctors declared him dead around 11.41 pm. Police said he suffered a severe head injury and internal bleeding.

Bhoir had joined the police force around three decades ago as a constable and had been posted at Chitalsar police station for the past one-and-a-half years. He had recently been promoted from Assistant Sub-Inspector to Police Sub-Inspector. A native of Palghar, he was living in Thane and is survived by his wife and three sons.

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The Chitalsar police have registered a murder case against Valmiki under Section 103(1), along with Sections 132, 121(1), 121(2), 115(2), 351(2) and 352 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Police said further investigation is underway into the sequence of events and the accused’s conduct before and after the attack.