Father-son duo stabbed to death in quarrel over bursting of firecrackers in Ahmedabad; one held

Ahmedabad: A man and his 18-year-old son were killed, while his nephew was injured in an attack by a group of people over the bursting of firecrackers during Diwali festivities in Gujarat's Ahmedabad city, police said on Monday.

The incident occurred around 10 pm on Sunday when four persons were quarrelling with some people who were bursting firecrackers in a residential society in the Ramol locality of the city, an official said.

The accused fatally stabbed Vijay Shankar Banshilal (44), an autorickshaw driver, and his son Dhirendra Singh. Banshilal's 17-year-old nephew was injured when he tried to intervene during the attack, an official from Ramol police station said, quoting the first information report (FIR).

As per the complaint lodged by Banshilal's wife, the accused had entered quarrelled with her brother-in-law, also an autorickshaw driver, a few days ago, he said.

When Banshilal, his wife, son and nephew rushed out of their house after hearing people shouting last night, the accused started abusing them, recalling the quarrel they had with their relative a few days ago, the official said.

The quarrel turned deadly when one of the accused, Deepak Marathi, stabbed Singh in the stomach, and after Banshilal rushed to save his son, he was stabbed four times by the others, he said.

The victims were rushed to a government hospital in an ambulance, where the father-son duo was declared dead, while their relative was undergoing treatment, the official said.

One of the accused persons has been arrested, and efforts are on to apprehend the other three, he said.