Son of man accused in Vanraj Andekar’s murder shot dead: Gangster Bandu Andekar booked, 2 arrested

All accused have been booked under Sections 103 (1), 61 (2), 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and relevant provisions of the Arms Act.

Police arrested two accused Amit Patole and Yash Patil around 10pm on Saturday. Police are on the lookout for the other accused, including Bandu Andekar. The arrested duo was produced before a court in Pune on Sunday, which sent them to police custody till September 12.

According to police, the Andekar gang members hatched a conspiracy to kill Ayush Komkar to avenge the murder of Vanraj Andekar, who was killed on September 1 last year.

A police probe revealed that Andekar gang members laid a trap near the Lakshmi Complex and fired about 11 bullets at Ayush when he returned from a coaching class and was parking his two-wheeler at the spot around 7.30pm on September 5. Police said accused Aman Pathan and Yash Patil allegedly shot dead Ayush in the parking of Lakshmi Complex, near Navrang Mitra Mandal in Bhavani Peth, where he was residing.
The assailants allegedly shouted “only Bandu Andekar and Krushna Andekar here” after killing Ayush, said police.

Meanwhile, police told the court on Sunday that accused Ait Patole and Suraj Mergu were present at the crime scene when the murder took place. Empty cartridges have been recovered from the spot, said police.

Vanraj Andekar (40) was shot dead near his residence in Nana Peth on September 1, 2024. Bandu Anderkar, leader of the Andekar gang operating from the mid-city areas of Pune for the last 40 years, had lodged an FIR at the Samarth police station for his son’s murder.

The FIR named Vanraj’s sister Sanjivani Komkar, her husband Jayant Lakshman Komkar, his second sister Kalyani and her husband Ganesh Lakshman Komkar, a family member Prakash Jayant Komkar, all residents of Nana Peth, along with Somnath Sayaji Gaikwad and others from the Ambegaon Pathar area as accused. Police arrested and chargesheeted 22 people, including Sanjivani, Jayant, Ganesh Komkar and Somnath Gaikwad, in the case. Police said following a previous dispute, the Komkars allegedly conspired to kill Vanraj with the help of Somnath Gaikwad, a criminal on record and a former henchman of the Andekar gang who later became a rival.

The police were aware that the Andekar gang was planning to take revenge for Vanraj’s murder. On August 31, Andekar gang member Datta Balu Kale of Ganesh Peth was nabbed after the police received information that he was suspiciously taking photographs of certain spots and houses in the Ambegaon Pathar area. Subsequently, the investigation revealed a plan by the Andekar gang to kill Gaikwad’s son on September 1, on the occasion of Vanraj’s first death anniversary.

An FIR was lodged at the Bharati Vidyapeeth police station on September 3 against Datta Kale and seven others, including Krushna Andekar, for allegedly conducting a recce of the houses of Gaikwad and his aides in the Ambegaon Pathar area. Probe revealed that a gang member had also taken a room on rent in Ambegaon Pathar for execution of the revenge killing.

Police also booked a woman who rented a room to the gangsters without taking their identity and other documents and failing to inform the cops about the tenants, which is mandatory as per the norms. Police also arrested two people allegedly linked to the Tipu Pathan gang on suspicion that they supplied firearms to the Andekar gang.
While a search for the wanted accused is on, police said a probe was on to recover pistols used for committing the crime.