Pune: Yerwada Police Bust Gang For Grabbing Deceased Man’s Prime Real Estate Using Forged Documents and Impersonators
Pune, 18th April 2026: The Yerwada Police have uncovered a sophisticated land-grabbing syndicate that targeted properties of deceased individuals, arresting the mastermind and two others. The gang orchestrated a criminal conspiracy to usurp two prime plots of land opposite the Aga Khan Palace in Yerwada by forging legal documents and deploying a senior citizen as an imposter.
The investigation was initiated following an FIR lodged on February 18, 2026, by New Delhi resident Abhinav Shrikishan Kotru (50). The complainant alleged that the accused illegally usurped property (measuring a total of 1,078 sq meters across two plots) belonging to his late uncle, Brij Kishan Kotru. A case was registered at the Yerwada Police Station under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) 2023, including cheating, forgery, and criminal conspiracy.
Acting swiftly, the police detained the first accused, Wazir Azmuddin Shikalkar, from Satara on March 18. During interrogation, Shikalkar admitted that he was made a figurehead for a company named S.K. Agrofood Tech Pvt. Ltd. to facilitate the illegal transaction.
The investigation gained momentum when the police traced the imposter who had posed as the deceased property owner. Acting on a tip-off, officials arrested 74-year-old Balkrishna Laxman Dixit from Rasta Peth. Dixit confessed that after losing his wife and lacking support from his children, he was in desperate need of money. Taking advantage of his vulnerability, the mastermind of the racket offered him a hefty sum to impersonate the deceased owner and sign the transfer documents.
Following Dixit’s confession, the police launched a manhunt for the elusive mastermind, Sunil Kadam. Using technical analysis and tracking, a police team laid a meticulous four-hour trap in the Shivajinagar area on April 15 and successfully nabbed Kadam, whose real name was revealed to be Milind Laxman Bhusari (61), a resident of Sadashiv Peth. A local court has remanded him to police custody until April 21.
Shedding light on the gang’s highly organized operations, Senior Police Inspector Anjum Bagwan, in-charge of the Yerwada police station, said, “This syndicate specifically scouted for properties in and around Pune belonging to deceased individuals who seemingly had no legal heirs or guardians. Once a property was identified, the mastermind would search for poor, needy, and solitary individuals who physically resembled the deceased owner. They would then forge identity documents like Aadhaar cards to present these imposters before authorities and illegally execute the sale of the assets.”
The crackdown was executed under the strategic guidance of Pune City Commissioner of Police Amitesh Kumar, Joint Commissioner of Police Ranjan Kumar Sharma, Additional Commissioner of Police (East Region) Manoj Patil, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 4) Chilumula Rajnikant, and Assistant Commissioner of Police (Yerwada Division) Sunil Jaitapurkar.
The on-ground investigation and arrests were effectively carried out by Senior Police Inspector Anjum Bagwan and Police Inspector (Crime) Vijay Thakur, leading the detection branch comprising Police Sub-Inspector (PSI) Kishor Berad, PSI Mahesh Fatangare, PSI Shubhangi Chavan, and police personnel Rameshwar Navale, Nitin Chandane, Shailesh Wabale, Sagar Dalvi, Natraj Sutar, Balaji Soge, and Ganesh Palve.
Additionally, policeman Gokul Ghule from the Zone 4 office played a crucial role in providing technical assistance and CDR analysis that led to the capture of the mastermind.
