MUMBAI, Sept. 4 -- A 50-year-old man, Vitthal Gaikar, was brutally crushed under a sedan multiple times in the Wagale Estate area of Thane on Tuesday night, leading to his death. Shankar Varte, a friend of the deceased who was with him during the incident, also suffered injuries when the prime accused, an externed history sheeter, tried to crush him under the wheels, said police. A dispute between the prime accused and the injured man, who is also the complainant, over a patch of forest land was the likely cause behind the attack, said police. According to the police, Shankar Varte resides with his family in the Narayan Baraf chawl in Wagale Estate, and cultivates a patch of forest land near his home. The prime accused, Santosh Pawar, too lived in the area till 2021 when he staked claim over the forest land and assaulted Varte's wife Durga and his cousin Babu Varte. He was booked by the police for the assaults and externed from the district, after which he was not seen in the area. On Tuesday night, Shankar and Babu Varte were visiting a Ganpati pandal in Wagle Estate with two other friends, Vasant Thokre and Vitthal Gaikar. "While they were going to buy a cigarette, they suddenly came across Pawar, who launched an assault on Thokre. When Babu Varte tried to intervene, he too was assaulted by Pawar and his friend Mahesh Patil," said a police officer familiar with the case. Subsequently, while Thokre and Babu Varte managed to flee, Santosh Pawar embarked on his white sedan parked at the spot with his brother Mahesh Pawar. "Santosh, who was driving, rammed the car into Vitthal. When he fell down, Santosh reversed the car and ran over him again," said the officer. When Shankar Varte tried to come to Vitthal's aid, Pawar tried to run over him too, resulting in injuries on his chest and right leg, the officer mentioned. "After Pawar fled, Shankar saw that Vitthal's head was completely crushed," the officer said. Both Shakar Varte and Vitthal Gaikar were rushed to the civil hospital in Thane, where Gaikar was declared brought dead while Varte is currently undergoing treatment, said the officer. The Shree Nagar police have registered a case against Pawar and three other co-accused including his brother Mahesh Pawar and friend Mahesh Patil under sections 103 (murder), 109 (attempt to murder) and 115 (voluntarily causing hurt) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. "The deceased was not related in any way to the dispute. He was just a friend and colleague of the complainant," said the officer....