21-year-old shot dead at a party with friends in Pune, four arrested

Days after a youngster who went missing was found to have been shot dead, Pune city police arrested four persons in connection with the murder case.

The deceased, Ganesh Nana Mule (21), a resident of Satavwadi in Hadapsar, had left home on Saturday night to meet his friends and did not return. His family lodged a missing report at the Hadapsar police station on Sunday. Police said Mule’s body was found at Bopdev Ghat in the Kondhwa area on Monday night. The probe revealed he died after a bullet was fired at him.

An offense of murder was lodged in the case under sections 302, 201, and 34 of the Indian Penal Code and sections of the Indian Arms Act. During the investigation, a crime branch team headed by inspector Hemant Patil and sub-inspector Chaitali Gapat arrested four accused identified as Rohan Rajendra Gaikwad (23), Akshay Sandip Gangavane (21), Yogesh Subhash Bhillare (24) and Chetan Parmeshwar Kudale (24) — all residents of Hadapsar.

A press release issued by the police on Wednesday stated that the four suspects had invited Mule over for dinner and drinks. There, they allegedly killed Mule by firing a bullet at him and dumped his dead body in Bopdev Ghat, police added.

The suspects claimed that Mule died after he was hit by a bullet misfired from a gun handled by one of them, police said. However, police are probing into the details to confirm the cause behind the murder. Police have seized a four-wheeler vehicle allegedly used by the accused persons and attempts are on to recover the gun from which the bullet was fired.