A 19-year-old was shot dead in Pune’s Nana Peth amid ongoing gang rivalry.
Police believe the killing is linked to the 2023 murder of ex-corporator Vanraj Andekar.
Security has been tightened as fear spreads in central Pune.
Pune, 5th September 2025: On the eve of Ganesh Visarjan, central Pune was rocked by gang violence when 19-year-old Ayush Komkar was shot dead in the parking lot of a residential building in Nana Peth. The incident occurred around 7:30 p.m., sending shockwaves through the crowded locality.
Police said unidentified assailants fired multiple rounds at Ayush, son of Ganesh Komkar, who was arrested last year in connection with the murder of former corporator Vanraj Andekar. Ayush sustained serious injuries and died soon after the attack. Bullet casings and live cartridges were recovered from the site.
Senior police officials, including Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime) Pankaj Deshmukh, rushed to the scene. A citywide manhunt was launched with nakabandis across Pune to trace the attackers. Deshmukh said the exact number of bullets will be confirmed in the post-mortem report.
Investigators suspect the killing was an act of revenge. Andekar was shot and hacked to death in September 2023, leading to the arrest of 16 people, including members of the Komkar family, under MCOCA. The long-standing rivalry between the Andekar and Gaikwad gangs has repeatedly flared into violent clashes.
Just days ago, police foiled a plan to target the son of main accused Somnath Gaikwad in Katraj. With Ayush’s murder, tension has once again escalated in Pune’s Nana Peth and Hamal Talim areas, where heavy police presence has been deployed to prevent further violence.
