Pune: Sinhagad Road Police have arrested the former deputy sarpanch of Narhe, Sushant Kute, in connection with the murder of a youth who was brutally beaten to death on suspicion of petrol theft. Kute had been evading arrest for the past two months. Three other accused in the case had already been arrested earlier.

The incident occurred on November 25 in Narhe when 20-year-old Samarth Netaji Bhagat was allegedly assaulted by four individuals—Sushant Kute, Gaurav Sanjay Kute (24), Ajinkya Chandrakant Gandle (20), and Rahul Somnath Lohar (23). All the accused are residents of Manajinagar, Narhe. The accused suspected Samarth of stealing petrol and brutally attacked him, leading to his death.

Samarth’s father, Netaji Bhagat, who works as a driver in a private company, reported the incident to the Sinhagad Road Police Station. According to the complaint, Samarth had been working for a private firm.

On the morning of November 25, at around 7:30 a.m., Samarth was confronted and assaulted by the accused on suspicion of petrol theft. Samarth managed to call his father and inform him about the attack.

Netaji rushed to the scene and found his son lying injured, surrounded by a crowd. Samarth was immediately taken to a private hospital for treatment. However, he succumbed to his injuries due to the severity of the assault.

Initially, three of the accused—Gaurav Kute, Ajinkya Gandle, and Rahul Lohar—were arrested following the complaint. However, Sushant Kute, the former deputy sarpanch of Narhe, was also named in the case and went into hiding.

After months of investigation and search, the police successfully apprehended him. A court has remanded Sushant Kute to police custody for further interrogation. The arrest was made under the supervision of Senior Police Inspector Dilip Daingade and Crime Branch Police Inspector Uttam Bhajanawale.