Pune: The crime branch units of Pune city police on Friday have arrested 12 suspects, and detained a minor, in connection with the murder of 26-year-old history-sheeter Nitin Mhaske, taking the total accused to 17, said officials.
Mhaske was murdered by the accused when he was coming out of the Mangala theatre after watching a movie at Shivajinagar early Wednesday.
The arrested have been identified as Sagar alias Yallya Irappa Kolnatti (35), Sushil Suryavanshi (27), Shashank alias Vrushabh Santosh Bengalee (21), Gudgappa Fakirappa Bhairai (28), and a minor was detained from the interior parts of Karnataka.
Malesh alias Mallya Shivraj Koli (24), Kishor Sambhaji Patre (20), Sahil alias Salya Kamble (20), Ganesh Shivaji Chaudhari (24), and Rohit Balaji Bandgar (20) were arrested from Vishrantwadi, Chaufula and other parts of the Pune district. All the 10 suspects were arrested by crime branch unit 1.
Vivek alias Bhola Bholenath Navghare (25) and Imran Hamid Sheikh (31) were arrested from Keshavnagar in Mundhwa by the anti-extortion squad 1.
The anti-robbery and theft squad 1 arrested Akash alias Chaddi Sunil Gaikwad from Uttamnagar and crime branch unit 2 arrested four suspects, including Laurence Raju Pille (36), Manoj alias Baba Vikas Hawale (23), Rohan alias Macchi Mallesh Tapdhar (23) and Vicky alias Nepya Kashinath Kamble (22) from Kharadi Kalyaninagar.
{{/usCountry}}The anti-robbery and theft squad 1 arrested Akash alias Chaddi Sunil Gaikwad from Uttamnagar and crime branch unit 2 arrested four suspects, including Laurence Raju Pille (36), Manoj alias Baba Vikas Hawale (23), Rohan alias Macchi Mallesh Tapdhar (23) and Vicky alias Nepya Kashinath Kamble (22) from Kharadi Kalyaninagar.
{{/usCountry}}All the accused were arrested on Friday and will be produced in court on Saturday, said police officials.
Amol Zende, deputy commissioner of police (crime) said, “We formed six teams and arrested all the 17 accused within 48 hours. Technical analysis report and tip-offs revealed that most of the accused had shifted to Latur, Solapur, Kolhapur, Pune rural, Belgaon and Raichur area of Karnataka after committing the crime. Both the victim and prime accused Yallya are criminals on police records and initial probe says that the accused killed the victim on Wednesday due to old rivalry.”
There were 22 cases registered against Mhaske at various police stations, according to the police.
Police officials said ten of the arrested accused are history sheeters. Four motorcycles worth ₹50,500, five mobile handsets worth ₹2,50,500 were recovered from their possession. There were 22 cases registered against Mhaske at various police stations.
Police sources confirmed that, in 2022, Mhaske was involved in a deadly attack on Yallya that left the latter serious injured, including a fractured skull. Mhaske was detained in Kolhapur jail under the Maharashtra Prevention of Dangerous Activities Act, 1981 (MPDA) in 2015.