The accused were produced before a court on Saturday and remanded to five days of police custody
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: A head constable rescued a 22-year-old woman allegedly abducted at knifepoint by her ex-boyfriend after a 70-km chase across Dharashiv and Latur ended in a half-hour standoff at a stone-crusher site in Beed. Police said the woman was abducted from her home in Borda village in Dharashiv’s Kalamb taluka by Devendra Abhijeet alias Tanya Arjun Navat (22) and three accomplices after she ended their relationship following a dispute.
During the escape through Kalamb town, the accused allegedly rammed vehicles and pedestrians, seriously injuring two people,” police said. “When cornered, Navat brandished a sharp-edged weapon and threatened to kill the woman or himself,” police said. Dharashiv superintendent of police Ritu Khoker Kalyan said, “The coordinated operation, use of the GPS tracker and the head constable’s presence of mind helped save the woman’s life. ” Inspector Shaikh said police acted swiftly by coordinating the chase and tracking the vehicle, ensuring the woman was rescued before the accused could carry out his threats.
Police tracked the GPS-fitted car to a hilltop road where the accused allegedly threatened to kill her or himself, but the constable kept him talking, pulled the woman to safety and helped overpower him. “The accused stormed into the house around 2pm, assaulted the woman’s mother and attacked her sister with a sickle before dragging the woman into a car and fleeing. With patrol vehicles unavailable, he flagged down a private car and set off in pursuit while Kalamb police inspector Shakil Shaikh mobilised teams and began tracking the suspects. A breakthrough came when police traced the car’s ownership chain and discovered it was fitted with a GPS tracker. In a tense half-hour standoff, Waghmode kept him engaged in conversation, waiting for an opening. The opportunity finally came when the accused let his guard down. Waghmode swiftly pulled the woman to safety and overpowered Navat in a struggle, suffering minor injuries. The three have been booked for abduction, attempt to murder, offences under the Arms Act and provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act. Police also seized two sharp-edged weapons, including a full-length sword, during the operation.
Using the vehicle’s live location, officers coordinated a pursuit across Dharashiv and Latur districts before the accused drove onto an interior road in Ambejogai taluka of Beed, eventually reaching a hilltop stone crusher site where the road ended. They were produced before a court on Saturday and remanded to five days of police custody.