Dilip Khedkar refutes abduction allegations; says truck helper was dropped at bus stop

Addressing a press conference in Ahilyanagar on Sunday, Khedkar presented his version of the incident involving Pralhad Kumar, a helper on a concrete mixer truck

Dilip Khedkar, one of the accused in the Rabale kidnapping case, has refuted all abduction allegations claiming that the mixer truck helper was not kidnapped but was dropped at a bus stop the next morning.

Speaking over the phone after the press meet, Khedkar said, “There’s a difference between extortion and compensation. (REPRESENTATIVE PIC)

Addressing a press conference in Ahilyanagar on Sunday, Khedkar presented his version of the incident involving Pralhad Kumar, a helper on a concrete mixer truck.

According to Khedkar, he was returning from Mumbai to Pune in his SUV along with driver Prafulla Salunkhe when their vehicle was hit by a mixer truck near Airoli bridge. Following the collision, the truck driver and helper apologised, citing poor visibility due to faulty wipers, and requested Khedkar not to escalate the matter, fearing job loss. They assured him that insurance details would be shared for compensation.

“The driver asked me to take his helper along to complete insurance formalities. Since it was late at night, I allowed him to stay at my bungalow in Pune. The next morning, my watchman dropped him at the bus stop around 9.15 am and asked him to return the next day. Later, I left for my village,” Khedkar said.

Speaking over the phone after the press meet, Khedkar said, “There’s a difference between extortion and compensation. What would I gain from kidnapping a truck helper earning ₹10,000 to ₹12,000? I even told him to call his driver and inform the latter that he would return the next morning. The police can check the call records.”

Khedkar claimed that around 1.30 pm the next day, the police visited his bungalow after the truck owner filed a complaint at Rabale police station, alleging that the helper had been abducted by two unknown persons. “My wife, who had no knowledge of the incident, told the police she was unaware, yet an FIR was filed against her with false details,” Khedkar said.

RTI activist Vijay Kumbhar said, “This is the classic example of ‘if you have the money and power, you can do anything and nobody will touch you’. Now the system needs to take a lesson from this case and make necessary changes so that nobody can make a mockery of it.”