Nagpur: Rs 2,000 loan dispute ends in stabbing, one friend held, hunt on for other

A quarrel between friends over an unpaid loan of just Rs 2,000 turned violent in the Vathoda area of Nagpur, with one man allegedly stabbed by his own friend while another held him down. The injured man, identified as Shailesh Meshram, was admitted to hospital with wounds to his neck, hand and stomach.

Police said Shailesh, the accused Roshan More and Anurag Dhok were known to each other and shared a friendship. Some time earlier, Roshan had borrowed around Rs 2,000 from Shailesh to help pay an instalment on his vehicle. When Shailesh later asked for the money back, Roshan is said to have kept putting him off with excuses instead of repaying it.

The simmering dispute came to a head roughly two days before the case was registered, when the three met at a wine shop near Chamat Chowk in Vathoda. As they drank together, the argument over the loan resurfaced. Roshan allegedly hurled abuses at Shailesh for repeatedly asking for his money and flatly refused to return it. During the exchange, the two accused are said to have gone as far as threatening to kill Shailesh.

The confrontation then turned physical. According to police, Roshan pulled out a knife while Anurag pinned Shailesh from behind to stop him running away, after which Roshan stabbed him repeatedly, leaving him with deep injuries to the neck, hand and stomach. The attack is being treated as one carried out with intent to kill. Both accused fled the spot once it was over, and Shailesh was rushed to hospital for treatment.

Acting on Shailesh's complaint, Vathoda police registered a case and launched an investigation. Anurag Dhok has since been arrested, while Roshan More, described by police as the main accused, remains at large. A search is under way to trace him, and the police have said the probe into the incident is continuing.