According to authorities, around two dozen locals belonging to the right wing group assembled at the spot at 1:30 am on February 19. Considering that the area was communally sensitive, head constable K Awaskar stopped them from hoisting a saffron flag. The group dispersed and returned later in the morning. 

When Awaskar returned at the spot, he was assaulted by the mob, and assistant sub-inspector Yusuf Sheikh intervened, Scroll reports. 

Sheikh was also beaten up by the mob and was paraded with saffron flags. But one of hte members of the group then hurled a stone at him, injuring him and causing him to collapse.

Sheikh said,

“I phoned the control room and appraised them about the situation. Using my mobile, I called the in-charge of the Renapur station on his cellphone. But still, they failed to send reinforcements in time. The policemen reached Pangaon by 10.10 am. By then, the mob had assaulted me brutally and humiliated me by parading me.”

Following this Sheikh was rushed to a hospital and 17 accused were identified from pictures clicked by locals. But Sheikh says he felt let down by the force as they failed to send help in time.

He told The Indian Express that,

“I phoned the control room and appraised them about the situation. Using my mobile, I called the in-charge of the Renapur station on his cellphone. But still, they failed to send reinforcements in time. The policemen reached Pangaon by 10.10 am. By then, the mob had assaulted me brutally and humiliated me by parading me.”

His son alleged that only a handful of 125 named in the FIR have been arrested as the main accused are still at large, pointing out that the police were not aggressive about protecting their own. 

Sheikh has served in the Maharashtra Police for 38 years, and was on duty in Pangaon for the past two years.