Five detained by PCMC crime branch; nine pistols and 13 bullets recovered from their possession

Acting on a tip-off received by policeman Ashish Botke, a team led by PSI Vithal Badhe, Purushotam Chate nabbed Suryabhan Lendve (30) of Bhosari on the Pune-Bengaluru highway in Hinjawadi on November 25.

In a major operation, the crime branch sleuths of Pimpri-Chinchwad police commissionerate have detained five well-educated men and claimed to have recovered nine pistols and 13 bullets from their possession.

Senior police inspector Sudhir Aspat,  who heads the anti-extortion cell, said, “A total of nine country-made pistols and 13 live cartridges, totally worth ₹2.27 lakh, were seized from the accused along with their car worth ₹5 lakh which were used in the crime.” (HT REPRESENTATIVE PHOTO)

Acting on a tip-off received by policeman Ashish Botke, a team led by PSI Vithal Badhe, Purushotam Chate nabbed Suryabhan Lendve (30) of Bhosari on the Pune-Bengaluru highway in Hinjewadi on November 25. Lendve had come to sell the firearms to prospective buyers when he was nabbed. The cops claimed to have recovered one pistol and two live cartridges from his possession. An FIR was registered against him with the Hinjewadi police station.

During further investigation, cops nabbed four more accused including Tushar Rajaram Sondkar (28) of Nasrapur who had sold the weapons and the names of others have not been disclosed yet.

Senior police inspector Sudhir Aspat, who heads the anti-extortion cell, said, “A total of nine country-made pistols and 13 live cartridges, totally worth ₹2.27 lakh, were seized from the accused along with their car worth ₹5 lakh which were used in the crime.”

ACP Satish Patil supervised the investigation team which included policemen Ajay Bhosale, Ashok Dudhawane, Ganesh Hazare, Mahesh Khande, Shailesh Surve, Vikrant Gaikwad and Nitin Lokhande. The PCMC police have been commended for their action against organised crime by PCMC police chief K Padmanabhan.