Pune: The city police have arrested two and detained four juveniles for opening fire at a city-based journalist, said officials.
The accused have been identified as Prathamesh alias Shambhu Dhananjay Tonde, 20, of Rajendranagar in Dattawadi and Abhishek Shivaji Rokade, 22, of Nandedgaon. The duo is daily wage workers and repeated offenders. Four minors have also been detained.
According to the police, the accused attacked Harshad Kataria, journalist with Marathi daily, with koyta (sickle) and threw chilli powder in his eyes at around 7 pm on May 27. The complainant managed to escape from the attack. Two unidentified persons on bike approached the journalist and opened fire at him when he was riding bike near Hotel Atithi on Satara Road at around 9 pm on June 11. The journalist escaped without injuries and the attackers fled.
The scribe filed a complaint at Swargate police station.
Smartana Patil, DCP Zone 2, said, “Our teams analysed more than 100-120 CCTV camera footages to identify the accused as they committed the crime with their face covered.”
Based on a tip-off, the police arrested the duo involved in the firing incident near Ranjangaon. Police have seized one countrymade pistol, one live cartridge, three Koytas, two motorcycles, three mobile phones, and ₹2.25 lakh cash from the accused.
The probe reveals that the accused, who carried out both the attacks over property disputes, are hired killers and efforts are on to find the person who assigned them the contract.
