Kolhapur: A gang of five men forcibly entered the residence of Sangli Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) director Maruti Bandgar and fatally shot his 14-year-old son, Vedant, at point-blank range around 6:30 pm on Thursday, causing widespread panic in the Abhaynagar SBI colony area of the city.
Police details of the incident
According to Sangli Superintendent of Police Tushar Doshi, the assailant grabbed the victim by the collar, placed a firearm near his right temple, and fired a single shot, severely injuring the boy. Vedant was rushed to a hospital, where doctors declared him dead. The motive behind the shooting will become clearer once all suspects are apprehended, Doshi added.
Arrest and main suspect
By Friday evening, the Sangli police's local crime branch arrested Atul Vaydande, a resident of Kupwad, who is one of the five suspected assailants. However, the main suspect, identified as Nilesh Vithoba Gadade, also from Kupwad, remains at large along with three others. The FIR was filed based on a complaint by the victim's uncle, police said.
Gadade has a criminal record and was previously arrested, along with another suspect Kiran Shankar Lokhande, in connection with the brutal murder of NCP Sangli district vice-president Dattatreya Patole in a company at MIDC Kupwad on July 10, 2020. Gadade was granted bail by the Supreme Court in July last year, while Lokhande and other co-accused received similar relief earlier.
Background of the dispute
Doshi stated that the victim's grandfather, Balasaheb Bandgar, is a former director of Sangli APMC and a leader of the Head Loaders' (mathadi workers) organisation. On June 10, Gadade and two aides visited the house of mathadi worker Laxman Kharat in a village near Jat over a dispute. Kharat works at the railway goods yard in Arag near Miraj. His wife alleged that the trio threatened her at gunpoint while Kharat was away.
On June 11, Kharat reported the matter to Balasaheb Bandgar. Together with other mathadi workers, they went to Jat police station that afternoon and ensured a criminal complaint was lodged against Gadade and his aides for threatening and other charges. Gadade held a grudge against Balasaheb over this and, along with four accomplices, reached Bandgar's house the same evening, Doshi said.
Sequence of events on the day of murder
Police said Gadade and his aides arrived at the house in a four-wheeler and entered the porch where Vedant was playing. The intruders repeatedly asked for Vedant's grandfather before opening fire. An empty bullet casing was recovered from the crime scene. Police are recording statements of witnesses present at the time, including Vedant's uncle, Sandip Balu Bandgar (33), who is the complainant. Balasaheb Bandgar and Vedant's father, Maruti Bandgar, were not at home during the incident.
Investigation ongoing
Separate police teams have been deployed to trace and arrest Gadade and three others. Investigators are also reviewing CCTV footage from areas around the crime scene. When asked if Gadade's arrest in the complaint filed by Laxman Kharat could have prevented the murder, Doshi said that police teams were actively searching for Gadade, but his location could not be traced as he had switched off his mobile phone.
Patole murder case details
A Sangli sessions court on September 29, 2020, and the Bombay High Court on February 6, 2025, had rejected Gadade's regular bail applications in the Patole murder case. However, the Supreme Court ordered his release on bail on July 18, 2025, on grounds of parity, as the other six accused had been granted similar relief earlier. The Patole murder trial is currently at the stage of part-heard evidence. On February 23 this year, a Sangli sessions court rejected separate applications by the complainant, public prosecutor, and police seeking cancellation of Gadade's bail for alleged violation of conditions.
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