Pune City Police have arrested the prime suspect in the recent shootout in Uruli Kanchan area, in which a sand trader Santosh Jagtap (35) and the henchman of a rival gang Swagat Bapu Khaire (25), were shot dead on October 22. Police have identified the main accused as Umesh Sonawane. They had earlier arrested Pavan Misal (29), who is a supplier of crushed stone, and Mahadev Adlinge (26), both history-sheeters. Jagtap had come to Uruli Kanchan at 2.30 pm on October 22 along with his bodyguards, when a group, which included Swagat Khaire, allegedly opened fire at him. Jagtap and his bodyguards shot back. Two of Jagtap's bodyguards, Shailendra Singh and Monu Singh, also sustained bullet injuries in the crossfire. Jagtap, who ran a sand mining and trading business, also had two murder cases registered against him. Both cases are linked to territorial disputes over sand mining. Police suspect that his murder was also the result of a past rivalry. After the arrest of Misal and Adlinge, police got information about Sonawane being the mastermind who planned Jagtap's murder. Acting on a tip-off, police laid a trap and arrested Sonawane from a hotel in Shirur on Friday.
