Pune Crime Files: how gangster Nilesh Ghaywal went from being an MCom graduate to an international fugitive

On police records since 1999

Ghaywal initially focused on his studies and completed MCom. He had good knowledge of financial issues but still got involved with criminal elements, the police said. As per their records, he was first arrested in an extortion case at Kothrud police station in 1999. By 2001, three more cases, including one connected to a murder, were filed against him at the same police station.

Retired assistant commissioner of police (ACP) Bhanupratap Barge said, “Around this period, he is known to have joined hands with gangster Gajanan Marne, both residing in the same Kothrud locality. But later they parted ways and became rivals.”

According to the police, Marne and Ghaywal were arrested in connection with the murder of businessman Mahendra Kavediya in August 2003. Investigators suspected that Kavediya was killed in revenge for the murder of BJP corporator Satish Misal who was shot, allegedly by criminals linked to the Mumbai underworld, on February 29, 2003. Misal succumbed to the injuries on March 13 that year.

Marne and Ghaywal, who were part of the same gang at the time, were jailed for a few years. However, they later had disputes over financial issues and supremacy, the police said. While Marne’s men referred to him as “Maharaj”, Ghaywal’s aides called him “Boss”.

The Dattawadi shootout

The police said that it was the Dattawadi shootout that made Ghaywal a prominent figure in Pune’s gangland. Ghaywal and his men, they said, allegedly gunned down Sachin Kudle and injured his younger brother Atul Kudle – both part of the Gajanan Marne gang – around 12.30 am on May 9, 2010, in the Dattawadi area. The Ghaywal gang had reportedly fired six bullets while chasing the brothers for about 2 km along public roads for about half an hour.

In July that year, the police arrested Ghaywal in this case. Soon, he was booked in two more offences in Pune and Latur.

In November 2014, Ghaywal’s aides Amol Badhe and Santosh Gawade were shot dead. Rival Marne and his gang members were arrested for the murders, but a court acquitted them in 2021.

In 2017, the Supreme Court granted bail to Ghaywal in the Kudle murder case.

Kidnapping, extortion, MCOCA cases

In November 2017, the police arrested Ghaywal again for allegedly demanding extortion money of Rs 1 lakh per month from a Pune Cantonment Board (PCB) member, and for creating a ruckus at a restaurant in Koregaon Park.

After he came out on bail, the police put him behind bars in a kidnapping and extortion case at Bhigwan police station in Pune Rural limits in 2020. He was also booked in a dacoity case in 2021.

The police said that from 1999 to 2022, Ghaywal was externed from Pune city limits multiple times. He faced preventive detention under the Maharashtra Prevention of Dangerous Activities of Slumlords, Bootleggers, Drug Offenders and Dangerous Persons (MPDA) Act and was also prosecuted under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA). However, Ghaywal was bailed out every time and he also became active in political circles.

Nilesh Ghaywal’s passport controversy

On September 17, 2025, members of the Ghaywal gang allegedly opened fire at an innocent man and attacked a student with sharp weapons following a road rage incident in the Kothrud area.

Two separate First Information Reports (FIRs) were registered in this regard. While some members of his gang were arrested, the police booked Ghaywal too and invoked MCOCA in the cases. In his petition filed before the Bombay High Court recently, Ghaywal claimed that he left India on September 9, but the police falsely booked him for the September 17 firing incident.

Investigators said Ghaywal’s children study abroad, while he is believed to be carrying out his criminal activities through local youths. In the last one month, the police have filed 10 FIRs against Ghaywal and his aides, including a separate case against him for illegally procuring a passport by submitting a false affidavit stating that no offences were registered against him.

As per the police, Ghaywal applied for a tatkal passport at the regional passport office in Pune in 2019, mentioning that he was a resident of “Gauri Ghumat, Anandi Bazar, Maliwada Road, Ahmednagar (now renamed Ahilyanagar).” Failing to locate him at this address, the Ahilyanagar police entered a “not available” remark on his application which was forwarded to the passport office in Pune on January 16, 2020. Nevertheless, a passport was issued to Ghaywal, using which he left India and is suspected to have travelled to London and Switzerland.

Officers confirmed that he did not surrender his passport as per the directions of the court when he was granted bail in 2022. Steps have been initiated to cancel his passport, and a Blue Corner Notice has been issued through the Interpol for Ghaywal’s extradition.

Political links and controversies

While leaders of the Nationalist Congress Party (SP) and allies blamed the BJP-led government for supporting Ghaywal, BJP leaders claimed that the gangster was issued a passport when the Congress-NCP was in power in Maharashtra.

Viral photographs and videos, meanwhile, show Ghaywal with politicians of various parties. BJP MLC Ram Shinde and NCP(SP) MLA Rohit Pawar – both from Jhamkhed constituency in Ahilyanagar, which is also Ghaywal’s native place – are among those who have been accused of having ties with him.

Ghaywal’s brother Sachin alias “Sir” is a sports teacher at a school in Pune who has political ambitions, police sources said. A controversy erupted recently over a letter by Yogesh Kadam, Minister of State for Home, allowing an arms licence to Sachin Ghaywal. While the Opposition blamed Kadam, a leader of the Shiv Sena led by Eknath Shinde, for ignoring a police report that denied arms licence to Sachin, the minister posted on his social media account that no offences were pending against “teacher and businessman” Sachin when his appeal was decided.

Despite the minister’s letter, the police did not issue arms licence to Sachin. Last week, the police booked the Ghaywal brothers in an extortion case filed by a businesswoman. Investigators believe that Sachin, who is currently on the run, is an active member of his brother’s gang.