Mumbai:
An RTI activist was attacked by four persons, two of them believed to be cricket bookies, with a knife and a hammer in suburban Kandivali, police said today.
According to police, Mehul Kataria (39) was walking on the road last night in Kandivali when four persons, started thrashing him with knife and hammer.
The attackers ran away from the spot when people gathered around the place and Kataria was taken to a nearby hospital with injuries on head and abdomen, police said.
"An FIR, under Section 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means) was registered against four persons for attacking Kataria," said Hareshwar Pimple, senior inspector at Kandivali police station.
"Of the four, he identified the two as Rakesh Rathod and Rajesh Nagaria who, according to him, are cricket bookies," Pimpe said, adding a manhunt for the accused was on.
Kataria claimed he had already requested for police protection as he sensed threat from the bookies in the area as their operations had been busted by police following a tip-off provided by him in January this year.
"The bookies and their associates had grudges against me and had plans to attack me. I requested the police to provide protection but they did not pay heed to my requests. I had even appealed in the Bombay High court seeking protection and the court had directed the police review my matter and going by the threat perception, provide me security," Kataria claimed.
"But the local police did not look into the matter, as they were hand-in-gloves with the bookies," Kataria alleged.
However, Pimple rubbished the allegations stating they had never received any court order in this regard.