Pune: Pimpri Chinchwad Police Arrest Two For Kidnapping, Extortion After False Claims of Being Law Enforcement Officers
Reported By Varad Bhatkhande
Pimpri Chinchwad, 5th September 2024: The Anti-Extortion Squad of the Pimpri Chinchwad Police Commissionerate (PCPC) has arrested two individuals for kidnapping and extortion. They falsely claimed to be police officers, kidnapped a student near Hinjawadi, and took him to Satara District.
The kidnappers demanded a ransom of Rs 2 Crore for the student’s release. When the ransom wasn’t paid, they robbed the student and left him on the highway. The accused are known criminals with prior records.
A case has been registered under sections 140(2) (wrongfully concealing or keeping in confinement a kidnapped or abducted person), 308(4) (extortion), 204 (personating a public servant), and 3(5) (acts done by several persons in furtherance of a common intention) of the BNS at Hinjawadi Police Station. Dnyaneshwar Vilas Ghadge (26, a resident of Malshiras, Solapur) and Yogesh Vishwas Sawant (34, a resident of Akluj, Solapur) have been arrested. Dnyaneshwar Ghadge is a history-sheeter with multiple serious cases registered against him at Velapur Police Station in Solapur.
According to Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Sandeep Doiphode, on 29th August, a 21-year-old student was kidnapped from the jurisdiction of Hinjawadi Police Station and taken to Phaltan in Satara district. A ransom of Rs 2 crore was demanded for his release. When the ransom wasn’t paid, the thieves robbed him of two gold chains, two gold rings, and an Apple Watch before abandoning him on the Pune-Pandharpur Highway.
A case was registered against five individuals, and due to the seriousness of the crime, the Anti-Extortion Squad initiated a parallel investigation. CCTV footage from a toll plaza near the crime scene revealed that the suspects were in a village in Malshiras taluka of Solapur district.
A team led by Police Sub-Inspector Sunil Bhadane, with assistance from local police, arrested Ghadge from Malshiras taluka. Based on information from him, Sawant was later arrested in Akluj. Two mobile phones and a Maruti Suzuki Swift, both used in the crime and valued at Rs 8.40 lakh, were confiscated. The suspects also confessed to committing the crime with other accomplices, whose investigation is ongoing.
The operation was conducted under the guidance of Pimpri Chinchwad Commissioner of Police Vinoy Kumar Choubey, Joint Commissioner of Police Dr. Shashikant Mahavarkar, Additional Commissioner of Police Vasant Pardeshi, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Sandeep Doiphode, and Assistant Commissioner of Police (Crime 2) Balasaheb Kopnar. The team, led by Senior Police Inspector Devendra Chavan, included Police Sub-Inspector Sunil Bhadane and Police Constables Pradeep Godambe, Kishore Kamble, Dnyaneshwar Kurhade, Kiran Katkar, Ashish Botake, Pradeep Gaikwad, and Hulge.
