Five held in Baramati businessman Rana Suryawanshi attack case, but pistol still not traced

As the investigation into the murderous attack on Baramati businessman Rana Suryawanshi proceeds, the case is becoming more tangled. Eight days have passed since the attack, but Pune Rural Police have yet to uncover the real story behind it. Questions are now being raised about the police investigation.

Police have so far arrested five people in the case. But the biggest question is where the pistol came from, when the accused who have been caught did not have one.

According to police claims, both the actual attackers and the person who gave the contract to have Suryawanshi attacked have been arrested. It has also emerged that the attackers were provided with a sattur and money. But if this was a shooting attack, how did the spent cartridge casing go missing from the spot? A man named Kamble, whom police questioned, has flatly denied supplying a pistol. If a pistol was used, who delivered it to the attackers? Police still have no answer to this basic and crucial question. And even if the attackers' claim that no pistol was used is accepted, the question remains where a pistol at the spot came from.

Police have the entire chain behind the attack, the person who gave the contract and the accused. Yet they have not been able to find the main weapon. This is being seen as a major lapse in the investigation. The person who supplied the sattur and the money has denied giving a pistol. Discussion has now begun on whether police are withholding correct information in the case, or whether the entire system is proving helpless in connecting the links between the criminals.

Police are still pursuing some suspects, and new names are also emerging. But until the real source of the pistol used in the attack comes to light, doubts will persist among the public that the police action is merely superficial and misleading. On the whole, even though the accused may have been caught, uncovering the secret of the weapon used in the attack remains a big challenge for the police.