Pune: On Thursday, February 8, the Mundhwa police thwarted a potential robbery attempt at Z Corner’s petrol pump, apprehending four criminals in the process. The incident unfolded around 12:45 a.m. on Thursday along the dimly lit unpaved road behind Lonkar Petrol Pump in the Mundhwa area. While the authorities managed to detain four individuals, three others managed to evade capture under the cover of darkness.
The arrested culprits were identified as Harshvardhan alias Lucky Mohan Reddy (19), Kuldeep alias Kunal Sanjay Salunkhe (19), Tejas alias Sunny Ashwin Pillay (20), and Shashank Srikanth Nagvekar (20), all residents of Keshavnagar, Mundhwa. However, their three accomplices successfully evaded arrest. A case has been registered against the apprehended individuals under IPC sections 399 and 402, along with relevant provisions of the Arms Act and Maharashtra Police Act. The complaint was lodged by Police Constable Dinesh Madhukar Bhandurge at the Mundhwa police station.
The operation unfolded when police officers and members of the investigation team were patrolling the Lonkar Chowk area in Keshavnagar. Acting on a tip-off received by Officer Dinesh Bhandurge, the team swiftly moved to the location behind Lonkar Petrol Pump. There, they overheard a conversation among the suspects, who were evidently plotting a serious crime.
According to sources, the suspects were allegedly planning to loot the cash from the petrol pump once people’s arrival at the location had subsided. However, their plans were thwarted when the police arrived at the scene. Despite attempting to flee in the darkness, the culprits were swiftly apprehended by the police personnel. Further investigation revealed that the arrested individuals had a long history of criminal activity.
Several incriminating materials, including swords, iron rods, iron machetes, chilli powder, and ropes, were seized from the arrested individuals. Notably, Kuldeep alias Kunal Salunkhe has four previous cognizable offences and two indictable offences, while Harshvardhan Reddy has 13 cognizable offences against his name. Tejas alias Sunny Pillay has one cognizable offence, and Shashank Nagvekar has two cognizable offences on record.
This successful operation was carried out by the team of Senior Police Inspector Mahesh Bolkotgi, Assistant Police Inspector Vilas Sutar, Sandeep Jore, Police Sub-Inspector Dhananjay Gade, Assistant Sub-Inspector Santosh Jagtap, Police Constable Dinesh Bhandurge, Santosh Kale, Dinesh Rane, Rahul More, Mohan Saruk, Deepak Kadam, Pramod Jagtap, Sachin Patil, Swapnil Raskar, and Hemant Perne under the guidance of Commissioner of Police Amitesh Kumar, Additional Commissioner of Police East Regional Division Ranjan Kumar Sharma, Deputy Commissioner of Police R Raja, and Assistant Commissioner of Police Ashwini Rakh.
