Satpura cops seek crime history of 5-member kidnap gang

Nashik: The Saputara police have sought the criminal history of the five-member gang arrested by them early on Thursday morning in connection to the abduction of Nashik-based stock trader Yogesh Bhalerao (45) and his nephew, Mahesh Gaikwad (40) on Wednesday night.
The initial investigation revealed that the abductors have serious offences like murder, attempt to murder, Arms Act, etc. registered against them.
PSI of the Saputara police station, M L Damor, said, “At least two suspects arrested by them have cases of murder and attempt to murder registered against them. We have sought the crime history of all the accused from the Maharashtra police, which will give us an exact picture.”
Damor further said prima facie, it appears that the accused in the case were keeping a close watch on the earnings and financial background of Bhalerao, following which they decided to abduct him for a ransom of Rs 1 crore.
The Saputara police have received custody of the five accused till September 27, during which they would get more details in the abduction case.
Bhalerao and his nephew Mahesh Gaikwad were kidnapped from near Jatra hotel in Adgaon at around 8.20 pm on Wednesday. Later, they were taken to Gujarat by car. At around 11.20 pm, the Saputara police who were conducting a routine check of vehicles in their jurisdiction asked the accused to stop the car. However, after they did not stop, the police suspecting them of carrying alcohol illegally to Gujarat from Maharashtra, nabbed the accused after chasing their car for close to a kilometre.
Later, when the police started inspecting the car, the two victims told the police that they were kidnapped by the five others. The police also found a country-made pistol, three live cartridges and a knife inside the car.