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Gangster Andekar, two family members, all murder accused, allowed by Pune court to contest civic polls

A Pune court has allowed jailed gangster Bandu Andekar and two family members to contest the upcoming civic elections even as they remain in judicial custody for the murder of 19-year-old Ayush Komkar.

4 min readPuneDec 12, 2025 10:32 AM IST

Bandu Andekar, Lakshmi Andekar and Sonali Andekar had moved an application before the court seeking permission to contest elections (File photo).

Notorius Gangster Bandu Andekar and his two family members, who are currently in prison under judicial custody for the brutal murder his teenage grandson Ayush Komkar, have been allowed by a court in Pune to contest the civic elections after they had moved an application. Along with Bandu Andekar, sister-in-law Lakshmi Udaykant Andekar and daughter-in-law Sonali Vanraj Andekar have been allowed by court to contest the upcoming civic elections in Pune, their lawyer Amrapali Dhiwar said on Thursday.

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Ayush (19) was allegedly shot multiple times by two gunmen in the parking lot of his residential building in Bhavani Peth on September 5 this year in what is suspected to be an act of revenge for the murder of former NCP corporator Vanraj Andekar, Bandu Andekar’s son, in September last year. Ayush was the son of Bandu Andekar’s daughter Kalyani Komkar, whose husband Ganesh Komkar is prime accused in Vanraj’s murder. Pune police have till now arrested 16 persons including Bandu alias Suryakant (70), his brother Udaykant’s wife Laxmi (60) and Vanraj’s wife Sonali (35). Other accused include Andekar family members and members of Andekar gang.

Andekar’s lawyer Amrapali Dhiwar said, “Bandu Andekar, Lakshmi Andekar and Sonali Andekar had moved an application before the court seeking permission to contest elections. The court has allowed the application. The bail application of Lakshmi Andekar will be heard by court on December 16.” When asked about the scenario if these three accused do not get bail till civic elections, Dhiwar said, “They will contest elections from the prison.”

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While the Andekar gang’s battled with rivals for supremacy in Pune over the years, the Andekar family entered politics around the 1990s. Police have said that while Bandu allegedly handled the gang, his brothers Udaykant and Ramakant became corporators in the PMC. Vatsala Andekar alias Akka from the Andekar family became the mayor of Pune city in 1998. Also, Bandu’s wife Rajashree Andekar won civic elections twice in 2007 and 2012. The Andekar family maintained an association with Congress and the NCP. Vanraj, Bandu’s elder son, won the civic elections in 2017 on an NCP ticket.

The Indian Express earlier reported that a deepening rift within the notorious crime family of gangster Bandu Andekar over the 70-year-old patriarch’s illicit wealth and control of his criminal stronghold is suspected to be the central reason behind the murders of its two members — Bandu Andekar’ son Vanraj Andekar and daughter’s son Ayush Komkar — one year apart. This family feud is fueled by two factions of the once-undivided Andekar gang, probe has revealed.

As the police launched a probe into the murder, they also initiated a coordinated crackdown against the gang’s illicit financial empire. The gang led by Bandu Andekar has been involved in various criminal activities including collection of protection money or hafta from small businesses to extorting larger amounts from bigger businesses and commercial enterprises from the area under their influence. They are also involved in running gambling dens and in land and property deals using muscle power. The family is said to have acquired several commercial and residential properties, and has stakes in various types of contracts, which they have obtained through their muscle power, officials said.