Two members of Harjani gang arrested

The accused had abducted Bhavik Patel,brother of K P Patel,secretary of the Charotar Education Society. Bhavik is also reportedly a key witness in the Alpesh Patel murder case of Anand district.

ATS Chief Ashish Bhatia said: “Bhavik’s brother is a key witness in a murder case. Most of the accused are in jail and charges are to be framed against them. Bhavik was abducted possibly to threaten Patel and to force him to turn hostile. Harjani was also one of the accused in the Alpesh Patel murder case and was absconding.”

The ATS said Harjani,Soni,Kothari and other members of the gang,who were probably from Punjab and Haryana,abducted Bhavik on June 24. They took Bhavik to Mumbai and later released him on July 2,after which Bhavik took a flight to Vadodara.

Bhatia said the two arrested persons have a history of betting on cricket matches. The ATS will question them for further information on Harjani and his right-hand Devang Bharmbhatt.

The ATS said,Harjani is wanted in a number of murder,kidnapping,attempt to murder and extortion cases in Anand,Nadiad,Vadodara and elsewhere in Gujarat. He is also wanted in similar cases in Uttar Pradesh,Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.

Bhatia said that Bhavik will be questioned after a few days as he is under trauma and not in a good health,adding that his statement could lead them to Harjani.

Harjani was in jail for five-six years before his release on bail. He has since been evading arrest.