Pune: The Pune Rural police on Tuesday arrested a youth and a car driver, and detained a 17-year-old accomplice, for allegedly trying to kill shipping firm owner Rana Suryavanshi (42) on a highway near Baramati airstrip on Sunday evening. Investigators said the car driver was paid Rs 2 lakh to execute the hit.
Police identified the arrested as Parth Awale (19) of Karvenagar and car driver Dnyandev Mahadev Shinde (50) of Solapur. Pune Rural superintendent of police Sandeep Singh Gill on Wednesday said, “The probe has revealed that Shinde received Rs 2 lakh to eliminate Suryavanshi. Suryavanshi’s friend, real estate agent Laxmikant Suryavanshi (42) of Indapur, lodged a complaint with Baramati taluka police on Tuesday afternoon. “Suryavanshi reached Baramati with his convoy of police and private bodyguards around 7.10pm on Sunday, where Laxmikant and three friends met him.
Police said one of the youths with a bouquet approached Suryavanshi, claimed to be a fan and asked for a photograph. “Suryavanshi asked his police bodyguard to click the photo and told the youth to remove his mask. The youth then took out a sharp weapon, attacked Suryavanshi and fled,” the FIR said. Police said Suryavanshi, a Solapur native who runs a shipping business with offices in Pune, Baramati, Mumbai and Goa, owned a flat in a Hadapsar township but seldom visited it.
We are searching for the person who paid Shinde. The motive behind the murder attempt will become clear once that person is arrested. Laxmikant identified three land parcels and shared their locations with him. As they were changing the driver of Suryavanshi’s SUV, two youths arrived on a scooter,” the FIR stated. At that point, the youth drew a pistol and attempted to fire, but the weapon malfunctioned. Suryavanshi hit the youth’s hand and the pistol fell onto the road. The police bodyguard chased and briefly caught the youth, but he bit his hand and escaped into nearby fields. His accomplice, who was waiting on the scooter, also fled.
Suryavanshi had called up Laxmikant on Saturday, asking him to find an agricultural or MIDC plot for business, according to the FIR.
A senior police officer said, “We are also examining how the attackers tracked Suryavanshi’s movements despite last-minute changes to his travel plans. We suspect possible insider involvement. We are probing who tipped off the assailants and helped them reach the spot with a bouquet under the guise of meeting the businessman.”