Rural police arrest another suspect in Polekar murder case

The Crime Branch and Haveli police station of Pune Rural Police on Sunday arrested third accused Rohit Kisan Bhame, brother of prime suspect Yogesh alias Babu Kisan Bhame, in connection with the kidnap and murder of former deputy sarpanch and government contractor Vitthal Sakharam Polekar (70) . According to police, the three assailants, including Bhame, attacked Polekar with koyta and then dismembered his body after their demand was rejected by the victim and family. The police teams are now looking for the main suspect Yogesh Bhame, the mastermind behind the murder.

Commenting on the development, national SP Pankaj Deshmukh said, “Our investigation has revealed that the accused murdered the victim for ransom and murder charges have been filed against them. We have arrested the three men and two of them are part of the conspiracy to kill the victim. The suspects have admitted to killing Polekar and throwing his body parts into the waters of Khadakwasla reservoir. Our preliminary investigation shows that the body parts found belong to the victim. However, the torso and head of the decomposed corpse are yet to be recovered.”

The arrested attackers have been identified as Rohit Kisan Bhame of Donje, Shubham Popat Sonawane (24) and Milind Devidas Thorat (24), both residents of Ahilyanagar. According to Deshmukh, Sonawane and Thorat were arrested from Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh. The duo worked with eateries in Donje village before committing the crime. Bhame and two others were produced before the court, which remanded them in judicial custody till November 21.

“The main accused, Yogesh Bhame, is on the run. He has been charged in several criminal cases and has been released on bail. In October 2024, the rural police took preventive action against him. Currently, our teams have been deployed to trace and arrest the absconding suspects,” Deshmukh said.

In addition to BNS Article 140 (2), the police invoked Articles 351 (2), 351 (3) and 3 (5) (6) against the suspect.

Additional Superintendent of Police Ramesh Chopade said, “We used boats and drone cameras to locate the body parts in the water of the dam. “After careful analysis of the CCTV cameras of Donje and adjoining villages, we found that the footage shows a car leaving Donje and heading towards Khanapur,” he said.