Pune: A scrap dealer was kidnapped and robbed at gunpoint in Baramati, with the culprits demanding a hefty ransom. The Baramati police successfully apprehended three suspects involved in the robbery, recovering ₹2.5 lakh worth of valuables.

The victim, Qutubuddin Subhedar Shah, who owns a scrap trading business in the Lohkande Vasti area of Baramati, reported the crime.

On September 23, Shah was at his shop when a group of individuals arrived in a white car without a number plate. Posing as police officers, the suspects, led by Santosh Laxman Bhandalkar, accused Shah of dealing in stolen goods and demanded ₹15 lakh to avoid legal trouble.

When Shah raised the alarm, one of the men pulled out a firearm and threatened him. The group then abducted Shah, forcing him into their car and driving to a petrol station near Chikhali village along the Daund-Nagar highway, where they eventually released him before fleeing.

Following the incident, Shah filed a complaint at the Baramati Taluka Police Station, prompting an investigation. The local crime branch, conducting a parallel probe, examined CCTV footage that identified the vehicle used in the crime as belonging to Bhandalkar. Further intelligence revealed that the group was also planning to rob a jeweler.

Acting swiftly, the police set up a trap and apprehended Bhandalkar and two of his accomplices—Suresh Ashok Rakhpasure and Shekhar Subhash Shinde—on the Solapur highway near Hingangav. The trio is known to have a criminal history, with at least ten prior cases registered against them.

The operation, led by Superintendent of Police Pankaj Deshmukh, Additional SP Ganesh Birajdar, and Sub-Divisional Officer Sudarshan Rathod, has brought a sense of relief to the local community.