Ayush Komkar murder | Gangster Bandu Andekar’s son Krushna held, provided pistol to shooters: Police tells court

While seeking his police custody, the prosecution told the court that Krushna is one of the key conspirators of Ayush's murder and that it was he who provided the pistol used by the two shooters to gun down Ayush

Gangster Bandu Andekar (Express)

GANGSTER BANDU Andekar’s son, Krushna Andekar, who is a key accused in the murder of 18-year-old Ayush Komkar, appeared before the Pune City police on Tuesday morning and was subsequently placed under arrest. Police said Krushna is the key conspirator of Ayush’s murder and it was he who provided the pistol used by the two shooters

Ayush was allegedly shot multiple times by two gunmen in the parking lot of his residential building in Bhavani Peth on September 5 in what is suspected to be an act of revenge for the murder of former NCP corporator Vanraj Andekar, Bandu Andekar’s son, in September last year. Ayush was the son of Bandu Andekar’s daughter Kalyani Komkar, whose husband Ganesh Komkar is the prime accused in Vanraj’s murder.

Krushna (36) is the 13th accused to be arrested in the case. He was produced before a court in Pune on Tuesday and has been sent to police custody till September 18. “We had been on the trail of Krushna Andekar since the beginning of the investigation. On Tuesday morning, he appeared before the Samarth police station. He was subsequently handed over to the crime branch. He was produced before a court and has been sent to police custody till September 18,” said a senior police officer.

Story continues below this ad

While seeking his police custody, the prosecution told the court that Krushna is one of the key conspirators of Ayush’s murder and that it was he who provided the pistol used by the two shooters to gun down Ayush. It is alleged in the FIR that the Andekar family members and gang members hatched a conspiracy to gun down Ayush Komkar to avenge the murder of Vanraj. A civil engineering student, Ayush was returning home after picking his 12-year-old brother from a tuition class when he was shot multiple times in the parking lot of his building on September 5.

Yash Siddheshwar Patil (19) and Amit Prakash Patole (19) were arrested a day after the murder. Aman Yusuf Pathan (25) and Sujal Rahul Mergu (19) were arrested on September 8. These four accused are alleged to have executed the crime on the ground. Of them, Pathan and Patil are the ones who allegedly opened fire while Patole and Mergu conducted a recce, said police. Police subsequently arrested gang leader Suryakant Ranoji Andekar (70), more popularly known as Bandu Andekar, his daughter Vrundavani Nilanjay Wadekar (45) and her sons Tushar (27) and Swaraj (23).

On September 14, police arrested four more Andekar family members from Dwarka in Gujarat including Bandu Andekar’s sister-in-law Laxmi Andekar and her three sons Shivam (31), Shivraj (29) and Abhishek (21). Police have invoked the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) against the notorious Andekar gang in Ayush’s murder and the investigation has since been transferred to the crime branch.

Click here to join Express Pune WhatsApp channel and get a curated list of our stories