Pune: A hardened criminal from Sonesangvi village in Shirur taluka was arrested, and four country-made pistols, twelve live cartridges, and three magazines were seized from him. The operation was carried out by the Local Crime Branch of the Rural Police.
In this case, an offense has been registered at Shirur Police Station against Suraj Rajesh Padale (age 27, resident of Sonesangvi, Tal. Shirur, Dist. Pune), Sanket Santosh Mahamuni (resident of Sardawadi, Tal. Shirur, Dist. Pune), along with two others. Suraj Padale has been taken into police custody.
According to the police, Suraj Padale and Sanket Mahamuni are habitual offenders with serious criminal records. On March 26, the Local Crime Branch team of the Rural Police was patrolling the Ranjangaon MIDC Police Station jurisdiction to take action against illegal activities. During this patrol, the police received information that Suraj Padale from Sonesangvi possessed a country-made pistol and was currently at his residence. Acting on this tip-off, the police raided his house.
Upon investigation, Padale revealed that he, along with Sanket Mahamuni and two others, had purchased four pistols, cartridges, and magazines from Madhya Pradesh. The police seized the weapons, including those given to Padale for safekeeping by his associates. A total of four country-made pistols, twelve live cartridges, and three magazines, valued at ₹1.82 lakh, were confiscated.
A case has been registered against Padale and three others, and Padale has been arrested. The police are investigating the purpose behind purchasing the firearms. Padale was presented in court, which ordered police custody until April 2. Further investigation is being carried out by the Local Crime Branch and Ranjangaon MIDC Police.
The operation was conducted under the guidance of Superintendent of Police Pankaj Deshmukh, Additional Superintendent Ramesh Chopade, and Sub-Divisional Police Officer Prashant Dhole. The team included Local Crime Branch Police Inspector Avinash Shilimkar, Assistant Inspector Dattajirao Mohite, and police personnel Tushar Pandare, Janardan Shelke, Sanjay Jadhav, Raju Momin, and Amol Shedge.
