In a major breakthrough the local Crime Branch, along with the Haveli Police of the Pune Rural Police, have arrested the accused involved in the abduction and murder of a government contractor identified as Vitthal Sakharam Polekar, a resident of the Donje area in Pune. The Pune Rural Police has arrested three accused from Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh, while the primary accused is still at large.
The accused have been identified as Shubham Popat Sonawane (age – 24, resident of Chincholi Gurav, Tal. Sangamner, Dist. Ahilyanagar), Milind Devidas Thorat (age 24, resident of Belgaon Tal. Karjat, Dist. Ahilyanagar), and Rohit Kisan Bhame (age 22, resident of Donje Tal. Haveli), while the mastermind Yogesh alias Babu Kisan Bhame (resident of Donje Tal. Haveli) is still absconding.
According to the information given by the police, on November 15, Sonali Vitthal Polekar approached the Haveli police station to file a missing complaint about her father, Vitthal Polekar, who is a construction professional and a government contractor residing in the Haveli Police Station limits. As per the complaint on November 14, Vitthal Polekar had left his house for a morning walk towards Sinhagad Fort at around 5:30 am. As he did not return home at his usual time of 7:30 am, his daughter immediately rushed to the Haveli police station and filed a missing complaint.
Superintendent of Pune Rural Police Pankaj Deshmukh, while addressing the press, stated that Vitthal Polekar had taken the government contract for the Paigudewadi to Golewadi road. The accused, Yogesh alias Babu Kisan Bhame, had demanded a luxury car from Vitthal Polekar as a ransom for not obstructing his work.
He had threatened to kill Vitthal Polekar and his son Prashant Polekar if he did not fulfil the ransom demand. The deceased had discussed this issue with his son, Prashant Polekar. Hence, as Yogesh alias Babu Bhame had switched off his mobile phone and was not in the village, it was confirmed that he had kidnapped Vitthal Polekar with the help of Yogesh Bhame, Rohit Bhame, and their accomplices.
While the local crime branch team was investigating the incident, CCTV footage showed a white Swift car passing from Vitthal Polekar’s house towards Sinhagad Fort and returning to Donje village within a few minutes. When the police investigated the car, it was revealed that the car belonged to Ganesh Muralidhar Chormale of Donje village and had been used by Yogesh Bhame for the past two days.
The police searched Yogesh Bhame at his residence but were nowhere to be found. His mobile phone was switched off and his family members also did not know where he had gone. When the police investigated the CCTV footage of the area, it was revealed that the accused travelled towards Nashik along with Shubham Sonawane and Milind Thorat.
Senior Police Inspector of Crime Branch Avinash Shilimkar, along with his team, visited Nashik to search for the accused. At this time, it was revealed that the accused had gone to North India by train. With the help of RPF Nashik Road Police Station, it was learned that the three accused travelled to Gorakhpur by train. Immediately, a team was sent to Jabalpur in search of the accused. Later, the Pune Rural Police, along with the Jabalpur police and the Jabalpur GRP, initiated a search operation for the accused. The accused, Shubham Sonawane and Milind Thorat were arrested by the police and brought to Pune.
During interrogation, the accused confessed that Yogesh, alias Babu Bhame, had conspired to the murder and disposed of the body by chopping it into pieces and dumping it into Khadakwasla dam backwaters to clear evidence.
The Swift car used by the accused to commit the crime has been seized by the police. Rohit Bhame was arrested on November 15 and has been remanded in police custody till November 21 for further investigations. Meanwhile, the primary accused, Yogesh alias Babu Kisan Bhame, was earlier booked in nine crimes related to body offences for financial gains. Including crimes like murder, attempt to murder, kidnapping, cheating, encroachment, and illegal possession of firearms, while the accused, Shubham Sonawane, had been booked in two crimes, including attempt to murder and illegal possession of firearms. The police have arrested three accused while the search of the primary accused is underway.
Additional Superintendent of Pune Rural Police Chopde said, “The accused are on record criminals, and preventive action was taken against them earlier. The accused first abducted the accused and later murdered him with a sharp weapon like koyta within one hour of the abduction. The accused later chopped the body into pieces and dumped the dismantled body parts in the Khadakwasla dam backwaters. The police recovered 70 to 80 per cent of the body, and the Khadakwasla dam area was searched with the help of drones, and bots used to search in the water. The Pune Rural Police team has arrested three accused while the search for the primary accused is underway.”
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