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Pune Crime Files: How a routine highway blockade ended in murder of head constable hours ahead of his birthday
The Pune Rural police arrested a Haryana truck driver and his helper for allegedly running over Head Constable Mithun Vasant Dhende on May 13 last year.
Head Constable Mithun Vasant Dhende, who was killed by a speeding truck during a road blockade (Special arrangement).
At 9.30 pm on May 13 last year, Head Constable Mithun Vasant Dhende was counting down the hours. Assigned to traffic duty at the Vadgaon Maval outpost on the Pune-Mumbai Old Highway, Dhende, 41, was looking forward to the early morning completion of his shift. The next day was his birthday, and he had planned to return to his native village, Uruli Kanchan, to celebrate with his family.
He had no way of knowing that his typical night shift was about to turn into a tragedy.
The warning call
A few kilometres away, Assistant Inspector Sheetalkumar Doijad was patrolling the highway when a distressed couple on a motorcycle flagged down his unit. They reported a truck driving erratically and at dangerous speeds. The witnesses warned that unless the vehicle was intercepted immediately, a major tragedy was inevitable.
Patrol team member Ganpat Hole quickly relayed the information to Dhende, instructing him to set up a blockade. Dhende, supported by traffic warden Kundalik Sutar and several local residents, prepared to intercept the vehicle on the Lonavala-to-Pune lane at Vadgaon Phata.
A deceptive halt
As the truck came into view, Dhende signalled for it to pull over. The driver allegedly appeared to comply, slowing the heavy vehicle to a halt and turning off the ignition. The driver even allegedly signalled to Dhende that he was stepping down from the cabin. Believing the situation was under control, warden Sutar began moving barricades in front of the truck to secure the block.
“Moments after, the driver suddenly started the truck and accelerated towards Dhende, knocking him down,” said an officer involved in the subsequent probe. “He then sped off toward Talegaon Dabhade.”
Sutar and bystanders rushed to Dhende, finding him with severe injuries. Though Assistant Inspector Doijad’s patrol car arrived moments later and rushed Dhende to a hospital in Somatne, doctors pronounced him dead on arrival.
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Arrest and murder charges
The police did not treat the incident as a mere accident. Because the driver allegedly intentionally restarted the vehicle and crashed into the officer, investigators invoked murder charges.
A coordinated search by the Local Crime Branch and Vadgaon Maval police led to the arrest of the driver, Rehan Isab Khan, 24, of Mewat, Haryana, and his helper, Umar Din Mohammed, 19, of Mathura, Uttar Pradesh. Both were booked under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) for murder and provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act. The two are currently behind bars awaiting trial.
A state farewell
Head Constable Dhende is survived by his parents, his wife, and two children. In a heartbreaking turn of events, his last rites were performed with full state honours on May 14, his birthday. The ceremony was attended by the senior brass and staff of the Pune Rural police, who gathered to salute a colleague killed in the line of duty.
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