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Pune police arrest sarpanch among 7 others for firing at a MNS worker on Monday night
Four people have been arrested by the Pune police while Ghule and two of his associates are at large. A member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the sarpanch of Manjri, Ghule had allegedly paid ₹10,00,000 to the contract killers.
Shivraj Ghule, the sarpanch of Manjri village in Pune, was among seven people booked for firing at a Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) worker on Monday night.
Four people have been arrested by the Pune police while Ghule and two of his associates are at large. A member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the sarpanch of Manjri, Ghule had allegedly paid ₹10,00,000 to the contract killers.The four arrested men were identified as Deepak Bhandalkar, 26; Shahid Patel, 23; Mohsin Munir Pathan, 20; and Raju Shitole, 26; all are residents of Pune.
"They are from Arun Gawali's Akhil Bharatiya Sena. We do not know if they are related to his gang though," said Sunil Tambe senior police inspector of Hadapsar police station. The complaint in the matter was filed by Vishal Dhere, 35, a resident of Manjri and a member of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS). "He works for Shapoorji Pallonji (real estate company) . There was election - related clash between the two," said senior PI Tambe.
"One round was fired at him on October 19 near the Manjri stud farm. On October 21, one of the men who had taken the supari (contract) revealed to Dhere the name of the person who had paid for the kill. The bullet did not hit him ," said seniro PI Tambe.
"We have arrested and recovered a weapon, four rounds, two magazines and some empty cartridges. We have also found the place where they practiced on targets,” said senior PI Tambe. However, when asked if the shooters were trained in weapon handling, he said they were not as per their primary information. Besides Ghule, the police are looking for two of his associates identified as Pramod Kudre and Santosh Bhandari.
A case under Sections 307 (attempted murder), 120(b) (criminal conspiracy), 507 (criminal intimidation by an anonymous communication), 143, 147, 148, 149 of Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 3(25) of Arms Act along with Section 37(1)(3) and 135 of Maharashtra Police Act.