Moosewala murder case: Pune police arrest suspect from Gujarat
PUNE: Police arrested two persons including Santosh Jadhav, a suspect in Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala’s murder case, officials said on Monday. Jadhav, an accused in a 2021 murder case in Pune, was on the run for the past few months. Last week, Punjab Police probing Moosewala murder claimed Jadhav is one of the suspects who along with other shot dead the singer.
The Local Crime Branch (LCB) unit of the Pune rural police arrested Jadhav, 35, and his accomplice Navnath Suryavanshi, 22, from Kutch district in Gujarat. According to additional director general of police (law and order) Kulwant Sarangal, Jadhav is one of the assailants in Sidhu Moosewala murder case and also a suspect in the threat case of Bollywood Salman Khan and his father Salim Khan.
“We apprehended Jadhav and Suryavanshi after receiving information from gangster Mahakal. Jadhav along with Mahakal and Suryawanshi are associated with the Lawrence Bishnoi gang and are suspected to have a role in the Moosewala murder case,” said Sarangal.
According to Sarangal, Jadhav has been arrested in the murder case of Omkar alias Ranya Bankhele, a criminal on record who was shot dead by Jadhav in August 2021. An FIR against him was lodged at Manchar police station and later Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act was invoked in the case. The official said Jadhav, who was on the run for a year, had shaved his head and changed his appearance to evade arrest. “We are ascertaining their exact role in the murder case,” Sarangal said, adding that more persons from Maharashtra are linked to the Bishnoi gang, which has a pan India presence.
“The Moosewala case is being probed by Punjab police, we are coordinating with them,” said Sarangal. According to FIR, Suryavanshi had sheltered Jadhav who was caught in Nagore in Mandvi taluka of Kutch district.
Special IGP (Kolhapur range) Manoj Lohiya and Pune rural SP Dr Abhinav Deshmukh were also present during the media interaction by Sarangal.
Jadhav was produced before a judicial magistrate on Sunday night and was remanded to police custody till June 20.