Murder of Pune NCP leader planned by sisters over family property dispute, police say

Pune, September 2 (IANS): The alleged murder of Vanraj S. Andekar, a former member of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP), late Sunday is the result of a brutal family dispute and is believed to have been planned and carried out by his siblings and relatives, police investigations revealed on Monday.

Andekar, 32, was attacked in Bollywood style when around 14 to 15 people on six motorcycles attacked him with a helicopter and fired five shots at him as he was chatting with his cousin outside his house in Inamdar Chowk area of ​​Nanapeth in the city.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Ranjan Kumar Sharma, who is leading the investigation, told reporters that preliminary investigations suggest the murder appeared to be a result of old family and property disputes.

“We have so far arrested his two sisters and two brothers-in-law in this case. We are on the lookout for the other absconding accused and the police and crime branch teams have been deployed in different areas,” he said.

The arrested siblings are Sanjivani Jayant Komkar and Kalyani Ganesh Komkar, who have been involved in a bitter dispute over family assets for several years, an official said.

Andekar's sisters and their husbands are said to have conspired to murder him with the help of gangster Somnath Gaikad and were provided with the weapons used in the murder – a pistol and a helicopter.

Last night, Andekar was virtually taken by surprise. At around 9.30pm, he was hit by at least five bullets and attacked by a helicopter. He was taken to KEM Hospital, where he was pronounced dead on admission.

Several police teams moved quickly to different parts of the city and its outskirts to arrest at least three culprits this morning who were detained for questioning and after their interrogation, the sensational developments came to light. Sharma said preliminary information suggested that Andekar succumbed to his stab wounds and not the bullets but details would become clear only after the post-mortem report is out.

CCTV footage of the chilling crime scene shows the culprits arriving on motorcycles and one of them, in a yellow T-shirt, openly brandishing a shiny chopper, and his accomplices chased Andekar, who had fled into his house. After the targeted attack, which lasted barely a minute, according to CCTV footage, the culprits quickly sped away from the crime scene in different directions, while Pune froze in shock at yet another brazen murder in front of everyone.

Although Andekar has a clean image, several other family members have criminal records for various crimes in the city, while some relatives have been active in local politics and worked for municipal companies.