THANE: A petty dispute between two banana leaf vendors turned fatal after one of them, in a fit of rage, stabbed the other with a pair of scissors on Saturday at the Kalyan Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) premises, the police said. When the victim’s son and wife tried to intervene, the accused allegedly verbally abused and manhandled them as well, leading to serious injuries.

The Bazarpeth police have registered a case of murder and assault against the accused, Chiraj Rajkumar Soni, 21. The deceased was identified as Chamanlala Nandlal Karla, 55. Karla and Soni sold banana leaves in the flower market section of the Kalyan APMC.

According to the police, Soni and Karla had jointly ordered five banana leaf bundles from Jalgaon–four for Karla and one for Soni. Once the shipment arrived, Karla allegedly took all five bundles and began selling them without giving Soni his share. When Soni demanded his bundle, a fight broke out between them, police said. In a fit of rage, Soni allegedly stabbed Karla in the abdomen with a sharp pair of scissors, fatally wounding him.

When Karla’s wife, Neetu, and 22-year-old son Kartik tried to intervene, Soni attacked Kartik and verbally abused Neetu, said a police officer. The family then filed a complaint at the Bazarpeth police station.

“A petty dispute over banana leaf bundles escalated into violence, resulting in the death of a vendor,” said deputy commissioner of police Atul Zende. “The accused has been arrested. Further investigation is underway.”