Baramati police seize country-made pistol, three cartridges from Swift car; youth held on eve of polling

Baramati City police have arrested a youth and seized a country-made pistol, three live cartridges and a Maruti Swift car on the eve of polling for the Pune division graduates' and teachers' constituency. The seized items were valued at Rs 2,26,200 in all.

Aditya Shelar, a resident of Amrai in Baramati, has been arrested. The action, taken in the sensitive days of the election, has caused a stir in the town.

According to police, at around 8 pm on October 22, Police Constable Akshay Sitaph of the investigation team received a tip-off from a confidential informant. The informant said Shelar was moving around the T. C. College area in a red Swift car carrying an illegal weapon.

Acting on this, a police team led by Manisha Omase, Deputy Superintendent of Police (probationary, in charge), set a trap immediately. At about 8.30 pm, the suspect car was stopped on the road in front of the Morya Palace building near Ground No. 8. The car was searched in the presence of panch witnesses.

A country-made pistol was found near the driver's seat, with one live cartridge in its magazine. A search of Shelar's person turned up two more live cartridges in the pocket of his jacket.

Once it became clear that he had no valid licence to keep a weapon, police seized the items. These include the pistol, worth Rs 25,000, three cartridges worth Rs 1,200, and the car, worth Rs 2 lakh. A case has been registered under the Arms Act at Baramati City police station.

In initial questioning, the accused confessed that he had obtained the pistol from Mayur More, a resident of Medad in Baramati taluka. Police are now probing in depth why the weapon was brought and whether a larger racket is behind it.

The action was taken under the guidance of Superintendent of Police Sandeep Singh Gill, Additional Superintendent of Police Ganesh Biradar and Sub-Divisional Police Officer Chaitanya Kadam. Police Inspector Shrishail Chivadshetty coordinated it.

The team included police havaldars Kshirsagar and Abhijit Kamble, and police constables Kavitke and Akshay Sitaph. Police Havaldar Dnyandev Kshirsagar is conducting further investigation.