22-year-old killed for 'provocative' WhatsApp status message

A 22-year-old youth was killed in Wadgaon Maval area of Pune district on Friday night for having a "provocative" WhatsApp status message, police said on Sunday. Yash Awale was killed in Takwe village while out on a walk and seven people have been arrested in connection with the crime, an official said.

"At around 10:15 pm, seven to eight people came on three motorcycles and four of them attacked Awale on the head with a sharp-edged weapon. We have arrested seven people in the 19-23 age group for the crime on Saturday," he said. The Wadgaon Maval police station official said the accused and the deceased have previous enmity.

"Apparently, the deceased kept a provocative status message on WhatsApp which irked the accused and the murder could be a result of this. We are probing all angles including this one,' he added.