Biryani, Cash and Gang Loyalty: Pune Police Nab Marne Aide ‘Pandya’ from Sangli

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Reported by Mubarak Ansari
Pune, 14th May 2025: In a major breakthrough, the Pune Police Crime Branch arrested Balkrishna alias Pandya Laxman Mohite, a key aide of notorious gangster Gajanan Marne, from Sangli in the early hours of Wednesday. Mohite, 40, had been wanted in a serious case registered under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).

The case, registered at Kothrud Police Station (Crime Reg. No. 46/2025), involves grave charges under various sections of the MCOCA. It is currently being investigated by ACP (Crime 1) Ganesh Ingle of Crime Branch.

According to police, after Gajanan Marne was remanded to judicial custody by the MCOCA court on March 3, 2025, he was transported to Sangli Central Jail for security reasons. During the transfer, Mohite and his associates allegedly mobilised a group of 40 to 50 supporters from Pune, Satara, and Sangli to follow the police vehicle. The aim was to showcase the gang’s dominance and instill fear in the area. The group also reportedly arranged food (Biryani), financial aid, and other support—a fact confirmed by CCTV footage and technical surveillance.

In response, multiple police teams were deployed under the supervision of DCP (Crime) Nikhil Pingle to track down those aiding Marne. After extensive technical analysis, Pandya was located and apprehended at 4:00 am on May 14 from Sitaramnagar, Sangli. He was brought to Pune and formally arrested at 12:30 pm. Following his arrest, the MCOCA court granted police custody of Mohite till May 17, 2025, for further interrogation.

The operation was executed by a Crime Branch Unit-2 team led by Police Inspector Pratap Mankar, with API Ashish Kavathekar, and police personnel Mokashi and Kumbhar, under the guidance of Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar, Joint CP Ranjan Kumar Sharma, Addl CP (Crime) Shailesh Balkawade, DCP (Crime) Nikhil Pingle, ACP (Crime-1) Ganesh Ingle, and ACP (Crime-2) Rajendra Mulik.

Police officials stated that more arrests are likely as investigations into the gang’s activities continue.