Pune bus rampage: Court defers order on Santosh Mane

Judicial magistrate first class Umeshchandra More on Monday deferred the order on killer state transport (ST) bus driver Santosh Mane to be sent to Yerawada Mental Hospital after assistant public prosecutor AK Pacharne moved an application opposing Mane’s move. The matter is scheduled to come up for hearing again in More’s court on March 29.

Pacharne opposed Mane’s plea stating that the Yerawada Central Prison is having three MBBS doctors and one psychiatrist to treat the inmates. Mane’s application, filed through his lawyer Mahesh Agarwal, pointed out that he was undergoing treatment by Dr Dilip Burate in Solapur for mental illness.

Mane had gone on a wild race on Pune roads after hijacking a ST bus from MSRTC’s Swargate bus depot mowing down eight people and destroying many vehicles on January 25. Mane is currently lodged at Yerawada Jail.

Man held for raping minor
The Chatuhshrungi police arrested a 19-year-old labourer for raping a three-year-old girl on Monday. A complaint against Ranjit Vashita Ram (19), hailing from Bihar and living in Janwadi, was filed by the victim’s father after she was found unconscious and lying in pool of blood. Senior inspector Ajay Kadam and incharge of Chatuhshrungi police station told DNA, “The incident took place in the early hours of Monday. The victim’s father was consuming liquor outside the house while her mother had gone to answer nature’s call. The victim and her younger two siblings were sleeping in the house. When the mother returned, she found her daughter unconscious and bleeding. She was rushed to Sassoon General Hospital as she also suffered hand and face injuries. We arrested the suspect on Monday afternoon.”

Cops nab four robbers
The Hinjewadi police on Monday claimed to have solved six robberies that had taken place over the last six months in the Pimpri-Chinchwad area with the arrests of a gang of four robbers, including two brothers. The gang used to loot people at gunpoint.

Six motorcycles and Rs1.79 lakh were recovered from their possession.

The arrested men include Babu Kurhade (19) and Santosh Kurhade of Gandhinagar, Dehu Road; and Rohit alias Pappu Vilas Kamble (19) and Pranjal alias Naresh Sunil Ghanwat (19) of Nigdi.

According to the police, the gang had robbed Dange Chowk resident Rohit Jaywant Sasane at Bhumkar Vasti on March 15. The motorcycle-borne Kurhades approached him under the garb of asked directions to an address and relieved him of Rs1,000 and some documents at gunpoint.

Senior inspector G Mandgulkar of Hinjewadi police station said, “The brothers also beat him up. Earlier, the duo had looted Akurdi resident Vishal Mahendra Ahirrao on the same route. Ahirrao approached the policemen posted at Dange Chowk and a six-man police team launched a manhunt along with Ahirrao. The team spotted the brothers in Bhumkarwasti area, but managed to arrest Babu.”