THE bustling locality of Sadashiv Peth, located in the heart of the city, saw a series of dramatic events on Tuesday night when a man attacked a 24-year-old youth with acid and shot at him, then shot at police personnel and later, when cornered by police, killed himself. Police have identified the attacker as Siddharam Vijay Kalshetti (23), who hailed from Akkalkot in Solapur district and was an oil trader. Police probe has revealed that the mother of the acid attack victim had filed a case against Kalshetti last year, accusing him of posting obscene messages about her on a social networking website. Based on her complaint, police had arrested Kalshetti in December and he had spent three days in police custody. Advertising Police suspect that Kalshetti attacked the youth as he wanted to avenge his arrest. The first incident, the acid attack, took place at 8.45 pm when the victim was standing in front of a residential building in Sadashiv Peth and talking to a young woman. Kalshetti, who was carrying acid in a bottle, came up to them and threw acid on the youth, said police. When the woman started screaming and raised an alarm, Kalshetti took out a country-made pistol and fired at the man, injuring him in the back. As the firing triggered chaos, Kalshetti fled the spot and sought refuge at a residential building nearby. The victim was rushed to a hospital, where he is being treated for serious burn injuries on his face and chest, and a gunshot wound on his back. Alerted about the incident, police started looking for Kalshetti and located the building he was hiding in. As they closed in on the building, Kalshetti fired two rounds at the police team. But as the team inched closer to him, he shot himself in the head and died on the spot. His body fell inside the lift duct and was retrieved later with help from a Fire Brigade team. Advertising Later in the night, two separate first information reports were registered at Vishrambag police station. Senior Inspector Sunil Kalgutkar, in-charge of the police station, said, “Prima facie, the attack by Kalshetti seems like an act to avenge the case registered by the victim’s mother at our police station. Kalshetti, who knew her via Facebook, had posted obscene messages about her. He was arrested and was in police custody for three days…”. “The pistol used by Kalshetti is country-made but is a sophisticated one…,” added Inspector Kalgutkar. The victim, who currently lives in Sadashiv Peth, is preparing for various competitive exams. The woman who was talking to him at the time of the incident was, prima facie, not connected to the sequence of events, said police. However, she is the complainant in the one of the FIRs filed in the case. Police are trying to find out if Kalshetti had any accomplices.

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