Pune: MCOCA invoked against Gaja Marne gang after kidnapping of share market trader, friend

Officials said that MCOCA, a Maharashtra-specific anti-organised crime legislation, which can be slapped against criminal gangs if certain conditions are satisfied, enables police to take stringent action against the crime syndicates involved in various types of criminal activity. Pune Police have invoked MCOCA against gangs involved in body and property offences like kidnapping, extortion, murder and attempt to murder, narcotics trade, human trafficking, and online loan sharks in a recent case.

Last week, two teams from the Pune City Crime Branch had responded to a case of abduction in which a 34-year-old share market trader and his 30-year-old friend and business associate were kidnapped from Katraj area on October 7 by unidentified persons. Initial probe by the police suggested that the suspects kept the two victims on the move throughout the night in different vehicles along the Mumbai-Bengaluru Highway in Pune.

A demand of Rs 20 crore was made for the release of the duo. The teams from Anti-Extortion Cell and Unit 5 of the Crime Branch had launched an operation in response. Police investigation revealed that criminals linked to dreaded gangster Gajanan Pandharinath alias Gaja Marne (55) alias Maharaj and his nephew and henchman Rupesh Marne (43) were behind the kidnapping. Senior officials said that after meticulous surveillance of the suspects, the two abducted persons were rescued from the Pune Camp area on Saturday night. Police have arrested four people involved in the crime while a manhunt is currently on for Marne uncle-nephew duo.