Somatane Phata Toll Plaza Shootout: Cops Escape Bullet, Arrest Three Hardened Criminals In Late-Night Mumbai-Pune Highway Chase

Pimpri-Chinchwad: In a thrilling film-style late-night chase on the old Mumbai-Pune Highway, a bullet was fired at police officials from the Pimpri-Chinchwad Police Commissionerate (PCPC) at the Toll Plaza in the wee hours of Thursday. Despite a gunshot aimed at police officials from the Crime Branch, no one was injured in the scuffle thanks to the brilliant presence of mind shown by law enforcement officials.

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Burglaries and vehicle thefts have increased in the city, and all Crime Branch units and teams are on high alert, as detection is expected of them. Actions and investigations are being carried out by these teams under the instructions of Pimpri-Chinchwad Commissioner of Police Vinoy Kumar Choubey. While investigating the same crimes, the police team chased three notorious history sheeters and intercepted them at Somatane Phata near Talegaon Dabhade town.

The action was taken by the Crime Branch Unit 2. They have arrested Sunny Singh Papa Singh Dudhani (24, Hadapsar), Jal Singh Rajput Singh Dudhani (32, Hadapsar), and Manish Babulal Kushwah (28, Madhya Pradesh). A fresh case has been registered against them at Talegaon Dabhade Police Station under the BNS Section 109 (attempt to murder) and relevant sections of the Indian Arms Act of 1959.

Cop’s Presence of Mind Saves Lives

The incident happened in a forever-busy Somatane Phata toll plaza area. Despite being hours of the night, the toll plaza is filled with vehicles going towards Pune and Mumbai. Amidst all this, the firing happened, and chaos ensued, and panic was spread across the Talegaon Dabhade and Maval Tehsils of Pune. Pimpri-Chinchwad Police took a press conference on Thursday evening to announce the arrests and scuffle.

Speaking at the press conference, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Dr Shivaji Pawar said, “On Thursday morning at 5:30 AM, Senior Police Inspector Arvind Pawar, the in-charge of Crime Branch Unit-2, received confidential information that suspects in a recent burglary case registered at Ravet Police Station were travelling towards Talegaon Dabhade through Old Mumbai Pune Highway. We were aware that they would be using a Maruti Suzuki Celerio with registration number MH 14 JE 2628. We determined it was the same vehicle that was stolen some months ago from the Hinjawadi area.”

Police further said that two teams of the Crime Branch Unit 2 were created. One of them waited at Dehu Road’s Central Square while another waited near Somatane Phata. As soon as the vehicle passed the Central Square, police alerted the other team, and the accused were sandwiched at Somatane Toll Plaza.

DCP Dr Pawar said, “As soon as the grey Celerio car appeared, the police signalled it to stop. The accused were inside the car with Kushwah seated behind, while the other two sat in front. Kushwah fired a shot from a country-made pistol with the intent to kill Senior Police Inspector Arvind Pawar and his team. Police Constable Bhausaheb Rathod showed presence of mind and tried to snatch the pistol from the accused's hand. In the scuffle, a bullet was shot, but it passed through the car’s roof.

Where Is the Country’s Law & Order?

A whopping 70 criminal cases are registered against Sunny Singh Dudhani across Maharashtra. 50 criminal cases are registered against Jal Singh Dudhani, while Manish Kushwah is also a hardened criminal. From their possession, two country-made pistols, seven live cartridges, stolen gold and silver jewellery, and sharp weapons were seized, all worth Rs 8.87 Lakh. The court has granted police custody to the accused, and the police anticipate the possibility of solving more crimes through their interrogation.

Previously, Sunny Singh Dudhani has been arrested multiple times, and it has been reported in the media. The others, too, are hardened criminals and are under action under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act of 1999 (MCOCA). This has raised serious questions regarding the country’s law and order. Police arrest criminals, but the court grants them bail, and these criminals continue to commit crimes. Residents across the district have demanded stronger enforcement.

The Police Team
The action was taken under the guidance of Pimpri-Chinchwad CP Vinoy Kumar Choubey, JCP Dr Shashikant Mahavarkar, Addl CP Sarang Awad, DCP Dr Shivaji Pawar, and ACP (Crime) Dr Vishal Hire.

The Unit 2 team was led by Sr PI Arvind Pawar, which included PSI Salunke, ASI Gaware, and Police Constables Vikram Kudal, Bhausaheb Rathod, Tushar Shete, Vikrant Chavan, Mohammad Gaus Nadaf, Krushna Shitole, Prashant Syed, Amar Rane, Sukhdev Gawande, and Dhananjay Jadhav.