Mumbai Hostage Rescue Wins Praise, But These 2 Pune Kidnapping Cases Were Handled Even More Brilliantly

Pimpri-Chinchwad: People went into a panic on Thursday as around 19 people were held hostage by a man identified as Rohit Arya (50, Nagpur), who invited all these hostages to a studio in Powai. After around five hours of negotiations and threats of blasting the whole building along with the accused, the police gained access to the building, and Arya was killed in an open fire.

Mumbai Police are currently being praised nationwide for the bravery they showed, and indeed, it's a feat worth praising. However, in the Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad area, multiple cases of kidnapping have happened, and many times they turned serious as the victims were kept as hostages. However, in some remarkable cases, the police within the district have shown a very high level of patience and have been clutch in their actions, most of the time rescuing the victims and arresting the accused alive.

Today forgotten by the residents of the state due to their overly busy lifestyles, these cases had ensued a panic within the Pimpri-Chinchwad area in 2017 and 2018. These two cases showed unmatched police efficiency and the thing that is needed the most in today's world -- patient and mature thinking by the media individuals.

Maahi Jain Kidnapping Case 2018

A techie and his wife’s world was shattered when they came to know that their 12-year-old girl, identified as Maahi Avadh Jain, was kidnapped in broad daylight by unknown persons. The victim, who lived in the Queenstown Housing Society in Chinchwad, was kidnapped by two men after she came back from school on 15th November 2018. After coming back from school, Maahi went to a nearby shop to get some stationery. While she was coming back towards home, two men, identified as Nitin Satyavan Gajarmal and Jitendra Pappuram Banjara, kidnapped her and took her into the Chevrolet car they had and drove away.

A shopkeeper, who saw this incident unfolding, quickly raised an alarm and also followed the accused on his moped. His efforts, however, were of no use in stopping the criminals in their speeding car. The shopkeeper came back and let Maahi’s parents know what he had seen, and he was also the one who informed the Chinchwad Police Station regarding this. The news of Maahi’s kidnapping spread in the housing society like wildfire, and the citizens, desperate to do something, started raising an alarm on social media. According to officials who were stationed in Chinchwad Police Station then, this proved to be dangerous, as social media raised the alarms to the kidnappers.

The kidnappers called after some hours and demanded a ransom of Rs 50 lakh from the techie father. This was the first kidnapping case that happened in the then newly formed Pimpri-Chinchwad Police Commissionerate (PCPC). Police were under tremendous pressure as the family was politically connected, and along with that, the workforce of the newly formed commissionerate wasn’t good enough.

Girl’s Calmness & Police Action Saved The Day

Police started investigating the case in panic mode as the photo of the kidnapped girl was going viral on social media. The girl was kidnapped around 4 pm, and around midnight, police determined that the accused had taken her to a flat in Xrbia Housing Society in Nere near Hinjawadi. Sudhir Aspat, who was then heading the Anti-Extortion Cell of Pimpri-Chinchwad Police as its Sr PI, was leading the operation under the guidance of seniors.

Speaking to The Free Press Journal, Sudhir Aspat, who retired after becoming an ACP a few years ago, said, “We determined the flat in the society, and one of the accused who had left the flat was initially detained by us. One of our policemen went into the flat dressed as a food delivery agent. He rang the bell and spoke with the accused. The accused denied food, but that time was enough for our policeman to determine the insides of the flat and relevant information about where the girl was seated and where the accused was, and also how many people were actually in the flat at that time.”

Aspat further explained, “Two teams of six people each were formed, and we stationed ourselves outside the flat. After planning, we broke down the door, and one team pounced onto the accused and grabbed him while another one secured the girl. We acted before the accused could react. The girl kept her calm, and she was smart and mature for her age. She was also the one who saved herself from getting harmed while she was alone with the accused for so long.”

Police investigations further revealed that the kidnappers had done this due to the need for money. The kidnapping was planned for some days, as they had tracked the girl. The accused wanted to open a hotel business. But they were arrested and sent to jail.

‘Tuning of Police & Media Is Key’

Rohit Athavale, a senior journalist with 17 years of experience reporting the crime beat in the city, said, “In Maahi’s case, the media kept patience and did not break the story, as it might have endangered her life. Social media created a ruckus back then, as we remember. Even our patience was tested as we wanted to break the story, but police officials explained to us what it might result in and urged calm.”

Shedding light on yet another case, Athavale said, “A boy named Om Kharat was kidnapped in 2017. At that time, the kidnappers had taken him to Beed, and the whole situation lasted for over five days. At that time, as the media and the police had good relations, the police officials were open with us. They gave us access to information but told us not to report these stories in the paper until the boy is rescued. Realising we had a huge responsibility, we waited. The boy was rescued, and the two accused were detained in the following hours in Nigdi's Transport Nagar in a 70-hour operation. Later, we reported the matter thoroughly.”

Om Kharat, a 7-year-old son of industrialist Sandeep Kharat, was kidnapped by two youths identified as Roshan Shinde and Akshay Jamdare. Jamdare was a former employee of Sandeep Kharat. The boy was kidnapped while he was playing in his housing society's premises. The area fell under the then Pune Police Commissionerate (before the formation of Pimpri-Chinchwad Police). The boy was taken across multiple districts, including Pune, Ahilyanagar, and Beed, and travelled about 900 km in total.

Speaking about the case, Athavale said, “Police employed multiple tactics to trace the boy back. Showing exceptional efficiency, the police rescued the boy safely. The accused panicked and left the boy near his father’s factory. At that time, media representatives in Pimpri-Chinchwad were praised for keeping restraint and not recklessly publishing the news. During this situation, the police must trust the media and interact with them openly.”