3 close aides of fugitive gangster held; arms seized

Three close associates of fugitive gangster Suresh Poojari and their two accomplices have been arrested and a cache of arms and ammunition recovered from them, a senior police official said today.
The five accused, identified as Hemant Gaikwad (27), Rahul Londhe (24), both hailing from Solapur, Ravindra Ghare (31) belonging to Pune, and their two accomplices Rohan D'Costa (30) and Eqlaq Rahim Sheikh (30), both residents of Navi Mumbai, were arrested yesterday, police said.
While Gaikwad, Londhe and Ghare were held from suburban Chembur here yesterday, two others were apprehended from Navi Mumbai late last night.
"The Anti-Extortion Cell of Mumbai police had received a tip-off that the associates of fugitive gangster Suresh Poojary were coming to Mumbai with arms to execute some plan," Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime) KMM Prassana said in a press conference here.

"Based on the information, a trap was laid at a hotel near Chembur and the trio was nabbed from the spot yesterday. Two pistols with six rounds were recovered from them," he said.
A case under the Maharashtra Arms Act was registered in this connection, the officer said.

During the interrogation, one of the accused revealed that some more firearms were kept at his residence, following which the AEC team recovered three firearms with magazines, four empty magazines and ammunition from his residence in Pune.
During the course of investigation, the trio revealed the names of their two accomplices, who were apprehended from Navi Mumbai late last night, the officer said.

The accused were also involved in shoot-out in the office of builder Summeet Chakraborty in Ulhasnagar in July 2016, police said.
Further investigations are on.