Pune: Pune Police have registered a case against five persons, two of whom have been arrested, for allegedly conducting a recce to facilitate an armed attack on members of the Andekar gang while they were being escorted by police from the Shivajinagar Court to Dhule and Nandurbar.
The arrested accused have been identified as Vedant Rohit Sawant (21), a resident of Vanrai Colony, Dhankawadi, and Atharva Dattatray Khopde (21), a resident of Gujarwadi, Katraj.
The other accused have been identified as Suraj Ashok Thombre (24), a resident of Nana Peth; Manav Sharad Dhamale (24), a resident of Savarkar Chowk, Dhankawadi; Dhiraj Lakhara, a resident of Dhankawadi; and other associates. Police are searching for the absconding accused.
According to police, the accused allegedly conspired to avenge the murders of Ayush Komkar and Ganesh Kale and an alleged attempt to murder Akshay Mhaske, all of whom were linked to a rival gang.
Police said that when Andekar gang members Krishna Andekar, Swaraj Wadkar and Tushar Wadkar were produced before the Shivajinagar Court and later transported in a police vehicle to Dhule and Nandurbar, the accused allegedly monitored the convoy to facilitate an attack.
Investigators alleged that Sawant, Khopde and Lakhara, acting on the instructions of Dhamale, conducted surveillance from Shivajinagar Court to Kuroli near Chakan. Khopde was allegedly riding an Activa scooter while carrying a country-made pistol.
Police further alleged that the trio continuously shared the convoy's location, route and security details with Suraj Thombre over the phone to facilitate the planned attack.
Deputy Commissioner of Police Gauhar Hasan told The Free Press Journal, "Acting on a tip-off, we arrested two accused and recovered a country-made pistol. Efforts are underway to trace the remaining accused. Further investigation is in progress."
A case has been registered at Bharati Vidyapeeth Police Station under Sections 55, 61(1), and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), Section 3/25 of the Arms Act, and Sections 37(1)(2)(3) and 135 of the Maharashtra Police Act.
