Man stones two workers to death in Manmad, arrested

Nashik: The Manmad police on Monday arrested a 37-year-old man on charge of bludgeoning two workers to death, besides attacking residents and police officers with stones.The accused — identified as Manoj Nandu Bomraj, a resident of Pandhana in Khandwa district of Madhya Pradesh — is currently in custody. A police officer, while talking to TOI, said the accused appears to be mentally unstable and will undergo a psychiatric evaluation before formal arrest proceedings are completed.The sequence of events unfolded around 3am on Monday. Local residents spotted Bomraj lifting a heavy stone, preparing to smash the head of a worker sleeping by the roadside on the Manmad-Indore highway.When the bystanders tried to intervene and stop the assault, Bomraj aggressively charged at them with the stone. The residents were forced to retreat for their own safety, but immediately contacted the Manmad police to report the imminent danger.However, before the police team could arrive, the accused smashed the head of one of the victims with a stone. The police arranged to shift the critically injured worker to a hospital in Malegaon. The victim, however, succumbed to his severe injuries before reaching the health facility.As police launched an immediate manhunt in the vicinity, they quickly spotted Bomraj. Upon being cornered, the suspect violently resisted arrest by throwing heavy stones at the police team.

“The police had to use their fibre shields to protect themselves from the stones,” inspector Vijay Kare of the Manmad police station. said, adding that the accused was eventually overpowered and apprehended.Around 6.30am the police came to know that just 300 metres away from the first crime scene, another worker was found dead — killed in the exact same manner.“Based on the proximity, timing, and identical modus operandi, police concluded that Bomraj committed the second murder as well,” Kare said.While Bomraj has no official record of residence in Manmad, a background check by the police uncovered that he was previously accused of a similar violent offence in Padam Nagar in Madhya Pradesh. However, he was acquitted in Nov 2024 due to a lack of eyewitnesses.Given his highly erratic behaviour during questioning, Kare confirmed that the accused is being referred for a psychiatric evaluation to assess his mental state.