PUNE: The Pune rural police has seized 13 country-made pistols from the possession of six men and a minor boy, who were in contact with Santosh Jadhav, Pune rural police said on Saturday.
Jadhav (24), whose name cropped up in the murder case of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moose Wala, has been arrested by the rural police on June 12 in a MCOCA case registered with the Manchar police station.
Superintendent of police, Pune rural, Abhinav Deshmukh said, "The Punjab and Delhi police have questioned Jadhav in connection with the Moose Wala murder case. We also questioned him on the front but as of now, he has maintained that he was in Gujarat when Moose Wala was killed in Punjab".
"He is denying that he was there in Punjab at that time".
Deshmukh said, "Jadhav’s statement on being in Gujarat and not in Punjab at the time of the killing is being verified".
Jadhav has told investigators that he was in a hotel near Mundra Port in Gujarat on May 29, police said.
"We have sent a team to Gujarat to verify that claim," Deshmukh said.
Jadhav and his aide Navnath Suryawanshi (27), alleged members of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang, were arrested from Gujarat on June 12 and were taken to Pune. Police had arrested Siddhesh Kamble alias Saurabh Mahakal for sheltering Jadhav after Jadhav and his aides killed their rival gangster Omkar alias Ranya Bankhele at Manchar in August 2021.
In the fresh action, the rural police have arrested four aides of Jadhav and recovered 13 country-made pistols and eight mobile phones from them. A team headed by inspector Ashok Shelke arrested Jeevansingh Darshansingh Nahar (23), Shriram Ramesh Thorat (32) both residents of Manchar, Jayesh Ratilal Bahiram (24), Jishan Ilaibaksh Mundhe (20) both residents of Ghodegaon, Vaibhav alias Bhola Shantaram Titkare (19) of Chikhali, Rohit Vitthal Titkare (25) and Sachin Baban Titkare (22), both residents of Naifad. Police have also detained a 17-year-old boy in the case.
"These men bought weapons for Jadhav from a man based in Madhya Pradesh. We have identified the man," he said.
