Four shooters arrested in Chunabhatti shootout case

Four shooters from Navi Mumbai have been arrested for the killing of gangster Sumit Yerunkar alias Pappu. Yerunkar was killed for trying to regain control over his gang after being released from jail.

MUMBAI: The Chunabhatti police have arrested four shooters from Navi Mumbai who were allegedly involved in the killing of gangster Sumit Yerunkar alias Pappu, 46, on Sunday afternoon. All four accused – Sanil alias Sunny Patil, 37; Sagar Sawant, 36; Narendra alias Nanya Patil, 42; and Ashutosh alias Babu Devidas Gavand, 25 – lived in the same locality as Yerunkar in Chunabhatti. Sanil, Sagar and Narendra had past criminal records and Yerunkar was killed for trying to regain control over his gang after being released from jail in September, said police officials.

Four persons were arrested by Mumbai police within 8 hours after they allegedly shot dead a local gangster Sumit Yarunkar at Chunabhatti area in Mumbai, India. Dec 25,2023. (Photo by Raju Shinde/HT Photo (Raju Shinde/HT photo)

Police officials said all the accused used to work under Yerunkar in his gang prior to 2016, when he and seven other associates were arrested for firing at the office of a builder who did not give the contract for supplying construction materials to his gang. Yerunkar and the other accused were booked under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) in the case, but they were all acquitted by a special MCOCA court in September 2023.

In the meantime, Sanil alias Sunny had acquired a firm hold over the area and all gang members were working under him, said police officials. After Yerunkar was released from jail, he tried to regain control over the area and secure various contracts, which led to frequent verbal spats between him and Sanil.

“Even half an hour prior to the incident, Yerunkar and Sanil had a heated argument and abused each other. Yerunkar also threatened him,” said a police officer who is part of the probe, adding that Sanil most likely decided to eliminate Yerunkar for these reasons.

“The arrested accused were produced before a Bhoiwada holiday magistrate on Monday and remanded in police custody till January 5, 2024. We have been questioning them to get the exact reason behind the firing. All angles will be investigated,” said Hemraj Rajput, deputy commissioner of police, zone 6.

Four other persons including three of Yerunkar’s accomplices and an eight-year-old girl who was passing by also received bullet injuries during Sunday’s firing incident, which occurred around 3.15pm. Yerunkar was then at the Shri Photo Arts studio at Azad Galli in Chunabhatti to get a photograph with four associates – Roshan Lokhande, 30; Akash Khandagle, 31; Madan Patil, 54; and Vinod Vishwakarma. His birthday was coming up on January 2, and he wanted to put up hoardings with his and his accomplices’ photographs for the occasion, said police officials.

The studio owner was clicking pictures of Yerunkar and Vishwakarma inside the studio while Lokhande, Khandagle and Patil were waiting nearby when four pistol-wielding men approached the studio through Azad Galli. Vishwakarma and the studio owner managed to flee before Sanil fired one round at the ground, abusing Yerunkar while others fired two rounds at Lokhande – one bullet hit his right thigh and another hit his hand. Khandagle was shot in his right hand and Patil was shot in his ribs. Sanil and others continued shooting, abusing Yerunkar in loud voices. They shot him on his abdomen and left shoulder, while eight-year-old Trisha Sharma who was playing nearby sustained a bullet injury on her right hand, said police officials.

Yerunkar was seriously injured and shifted to Sion Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Police found multiple blank bullets and live bullets lying within a 50-metre radius of the incident spot. Locals were in shock after the incident and most claimed they were sleeping in their houses and only heard gunshots.