Vanraj Andekar murder: Key accused who procured firearms arrested

With Khond, the number of arrested accused in this case has reached 21. Besides, police have also detained two minor boys for their alleged role in the murder case.

A team from the crime branch, led by Assistant Commissioner of Police Ganesh Ingale, arrested Khond on Wednesday. He was produced before a special court on Thursday. Special judge V R Kachare sent him to police custody till October 1.

Around 9pm on September 1, the accused shot dead Andekar near his residence in Nana Peth area of Pune city. Andekar was targeted while he was chatting with his cousin Shivam, following a family function at their residence. A CCTV footage from the murder scene shows a group of over dozen individuals firing five bullets at Andekar and attacking him with sharp weapons, leaving him fatally wounded.

Vanraj’s father Suryakant alias Bandu Andekar (68), a notorious gangster and alleged leader of the Andekar gang, filed an FIR at Samarth police station. The FIR named Vanraj’s sister Sanjivani Komkar, her husband Jayant Komkar among several others.

Besides Sanjivani and Jayant Komkar, police also arrested a criminal on police record Somnath Gaikwad (41), a former henchman of the Andekar gang, who later became a rival, in the case. Police have invoked the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) in this case.

According to the FIR, Sanjivani and Jayant Komkar believed their shop had been demolished by the Pune Municipal Corporation’s anti-encroachment department at Vanraj’s behest during his tenure as corporator. The FIR also gave a detailed account of a recent dispute involving the Andekars and Komkars.

Police suspect that following this dispute, Sanjivani and Jayant Komkar conspired to eliminate Vanraj and roped in his rival Somnath Gaikwad from Ambegaon Pathar for execution of the murder.

Police seized eight country-made firearms from the accused. A probe revealed that assailants had allegedly procured the firearms from Madhya Pradesh through Khond.