Four held for planning robbery in Pune’s Bharati Vidyapeeth area

The accused were earlier banned from entering the city limits for two years under Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime (MCOCA) court

Four members of a gang were arrested by the Bharati Vidyapeeth police while they were planning a major robbery in the Bharati Vidyapeeth area on Sunday.

Senior police inspector Sharad Zine said that the gangster was found planning a major robbery along with his associates and based on strong and concrete inputs, all the accused were arrested. (REPRESENTATIVE PHOTO)

The accused arrested have been identified as Tausif Zameer Sayyed alias Chuha (28), a resident of Santoshnagar in Katraj, Suraj Rajendra Jadhav (25), a resident of Karmala in Solapur District, Kunal Kamlesh Jadhav (25), a resident of Wadgaonsheri and Markas David Issar (29), a resident of Raghunandan Apartments in Dhanori.

The accused were earlier banned from entering the city limits for two years under Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime (MCOCA) court.

One of their accomplices however managed to give the police a slip. Police constable Dhanaji Dhotre has lodged an FIR against the accused at the police station for the incident which took place around 4 am on Sunday in Santoshnagar area of the city.

Chuha has many serious criminal cases ranging from rioting, robbery, dacoity, and thefts etc lodged against him at different police stations. He was booked under the Maharashtra Prevention of Dangerous Activities of Slumlords, Bootleggers, Drug Offenders and Dangerous Persons Act (MPDA), 1981 in 2020 and was externed from the city limits, said police.

He had continued with the criminal actions after which the then police commissioner Amitabh Gupta booked him along with the other gang members under the stringent provision of MCOCA Act. Special Judge V R Kachare had ordered his externment from the city limits for a period of two years since November 6, 2023, and despite the said order, the accused violated it and came into the city limits.

Senior police inspector Sharad Zine said that the gangster was found planning a major robbery along with his associates and based on strong and concrete inputs, all the accused were arrested.

“We have seized one country-made pistol, one live cartridge, chopper and robbery-related material from the accused,” he said.