City police today claimed to have cracked the firing incident in which the accused had opened fire at a builder's office in the suburban Bhandup, with the arrest of a history-sheeter and his six aides.
City police today claimed to have cracked the firing incident in which the accused had opened fire at a builder's office in the suburban Bhandup, with the arrest of a history-sheeter and his six aides.
Acting on a tip-off, a trap was laid and the accused identified as Ashish Ghodake (20), Sanny Salunkhe (20), Sandesh Vichare (19) and Anil Rambhade (23) were arrested in a bylane off LBS road in suburban Mulund, Crime Branch officials said.
A pistol, two factory made single bore guns, six live cartridges, two swords and a Yamaha bike were recovered from the four, they said.
Bhandup police also arrested the main conspirator Mayur Shinde (28), who has a criminal background, and two shooters Siddhesh Tawade alias Tau (24) and Raju Bharadwaj (27) from Goregaon link road area, said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 7) Sanjay Shintre, adding that two pistols were recovered from them.
On Friday, two shooters had fired three rounds at Swami Samarth Builders & Developers office located on the ground floor of Shriharihar Residency building in Bhandup. Vaibhav Kokate, who owns the office, was in his second floor house in the same building at the time of the incident.
"Kokate has taken up Slum Rehabilitation Projects in Kanjur Marg and Bhandup areas. He had received a threatening call on November 2 from Shinde who introduced himself as Milind More. He also mentioned about one Tau saying he is a gangster and demanded Rs 15 lakh and three flats as protection money saying that they would not disturb his projects in Bhandup or else face the consequences. Tau had also spoken to the builder, who took it very lightly and did not report it to the police," said a crime branch official.
After two days, Tawade and his aide Bharadwaj, who has been arrested by the Bhandup police, fired three rounds at the builder's office in a bid to intimidate him. The two then escaped on a bike rode by Ghodake, the crime branch official said.
Salunkhe, Vichare and Rambhade had kept a watch at the spot helping the shooters to execute the crime whereas Tawade and Shinde had also made threatening call to the builder, police said.
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