Pimpalwadi villagers assist police in nabbing dacoits

PUNE, JANUARY 6: Residents of areas near Aale Phata on Pune-Nashik road helped Pune rural police nab eight dacoits shortly after they went...

PUNE, JANUARY 6: Residents of areas near Aale Phata on Pune-Nashik road helped Pune rural police nab eight dacoits shortly after they went on a rampage at Pimpalwadi village, targeting 17 houses and injuring 13 people, on Monday night.

Seven others, however, succeeded in making good their escape while taking advantage of the chaos which ensued when the police raided their huts with the help of over 100 citizens led by former MLA Vallabh Benke.

Deputy Superintendent of Police Subhash Mohekar said those arrested were Durga Bhogilal Banjari, Ratanlal Maghalal Banjari, Rajulal Goplal Banjari, Kaluram Mangurnath Kalbedia (30), his brother Babunath (27), Pappunath Ramannath Kalbedia (20), Kalulal Ukarnath Banjari (40) and Bhairunath Behari Banjari (32).

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Mohekar said the dacoits hail from Neemuch in Madhya Pradesh.They used to pose as carpet and mattress vendors while touring the states.The dacoits would allegedly survey an area at daytime and strike at night. They would avoid carrying weapons on their personswhile on the job.

Instead, they used sticks and other objects lying near the houses, according to Mohekar.

The dacoits, who were camping at Aale Phata on Pune Nashik Road for the last few weeks, had struck at neighbouring Pimpalwandi village late on Monday night.

Mohekar said during their three-and-a-half hour stay at Pimpalwandi, the dacoits held the entire village to ransom. They allegedly assaulted several villagers, ransacked 14 houses and stole goods estimated to be worth nearly Rs 1 lakh.

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Several senior officials including Superintendent of Police Gulabrao Pol, Mohekar as well as inspectors Hanumant Bhand and Netaji Shinde had rushed to Pimpalwandi the same night.

Gauging the seriousness of the situation, the police decided to comb the entire area so that the culprits could be caught. But the policemen were few in numbers and did not have enough vehicles.

The citizens offered their help and provided some vehicles to the police. Search parties were formed and the police and the villagersundertook the task of combing the entire area.

After combing an area of about 10 sq km, one of the search parties reached Aale Phata and spotted Durga, Ratanlal and Rajulal loitering near a telephone booth.

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The trio was picked for interrogation after a brief chase and later taken to the Narayangaon police station. The huts in which the other dacoits were camping were later raided on the basis of the information provided by the trio.