Manchar Doctor Kidnapping Case: Key Accused Arrested After Two Months on the Run

Manchar, 18th March 2025: The local crime branch of the rural police has arrested an accused involved in the kidnapping and extortion of a doctor from Manchar. The police also seized a pistol and two cartridges from him.

The arrested individual has been identified as Praveen, also known as Dollar Sitaram Ovhal (32), a resident of Walad, Taluka Khed, Pune district. The case was registered following a complaint by the victim at the Manchar police station.

According to the complaint, on January 4, the doctor was traveling from Peth to Manchar on his two-wheeler when the accused, Pawan Sudhir Thorat (a resident of Manchar, Pune district) and Ovhal, followed him in a car and deliberately hit his vehicle. As a result, the doctor fell on the road and was forcibly kidnapped and taken to the Nighutwadi area. There, he was physically assaulted and threatened with dire consequences. The kidnappers demanded a ransom of ₹20 lakh and extorted ₹1 lakh from him. After collecting the money, the accused fled in their car, abandoning the doctor at Peth Ghat.

Following the incident, Superintendent of Police Pankaj Deshmukh visited the crime scene and ordered the immediate arrest of the accused. Both Thorat and Ovhal have a history of serious criminal offenses, including murder, attempted murder, and illegal possession of weapons. While Thorat was apprehended earlier, Ovhal had been on the run for the past two months.

Acting on a tip-off that Ovhal would be arriving at Alephata ST station, police officer Akshay Navale and his team laid a trap and successfully arrested him. A pistol and two live cartridges were recovered from his possession.

The operation was carried out under the guidance of Superintendent of Police Pankaj Deshmukh and Additional Superintendent Ramesh Chopde, with the involvement of Local Crime Branch Police Inspector Avinash Shilimkar and police personnel Deepak Sable, Akshay Navale, Sandeep Ware, Raju Momin, Mangesh Thigale, Vikram Tapkir, and Nilesh Supekar.

Ovhal was presented before the court, which has remanded him to police custody. Further investigations are being conducted by Alephata Police.