Firearms Recovered in Sangli Teen Murder Case
Kolhapur: The Sangli police’s local crime branch has recovered two firearms, including one suspected to have been used in the murder of Sangli APMC director Maruti Bandgar’s 14-year-old son, Vedant, on the evening of June 11.
In a related development, a Sangli court on Thursday extended the police custody of two accused, Nilesh Gadade and Atul Vaydande, by two days till June 20. “We recovered the two firearms from locations disclosed by the main accused, Gadade. We have also secured extension of their custody to question them about where the weapons were obtained and which one was used in the crime,” inspector Sanjeev Zade of the local crime branch said.
The police have yet to trace two other accused in the case. “A search operation is under way to track them down,” the officer said.
Details of the Incident
According to the complaint filed by Vedant’s uncle, the murder took place on June 11, when five people allegedly barged into the Bandgar residence in the Sanjaynagar area of Sangli city. Finding Maruti Bandgar and his father Balaso Bandgar absent, accused Gadade allegedly shot the boy at point-blank range. The police suspect the murder stemmed from a prior animosity between Gadade and the Bandgar family. The tension reportedly began after Maruti supported head-loaders’ contractor Laxman Kharat in filing a police complaint against Gadade for extortion and issuing death threats. “An empty cartridge case was recovered from the porch where Vedant was shot, with the bullet striking him in the right eye. We will now conduct forensic matching of the recovered weapons with the bullet and cartridge,” the police said.
Arrests and Further Actions
The police said of the five accused, two have been arrested. Another accused, Sagar alias Nanaso Manik Chougule, along with his wife, allegedly attempted suicide on Tuesday evening on the premises of Kavathe Mahankal police station. “Chougule is currently admitted to a hospital. He will be arrested once he is discharged,” inspector Zade said.
Recently, Sangli guardian minister Chandrakant Patil had said action would be taken against all the five accused under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA). Zade confirmed that the proposal to invoke MCOCA was currently being prepared.
Stay updated with the latest Kolhapur news. Download the TOI App.
