Plot to kill a builder foiled, three men held

Mumbai Police today claimed to have thwarted a plot to carry out a shooting attack on a city-based builder with the arrest of three suspected henchmen of fugitive gangster Ravi Pujari and seizure of two firearms from them.
Abhishek Salvi (24), Aniket Jadhav (21) and Bharat Ved (23) -- who are from the city and neighbouring Thane district -- were arrested yesterday from suburban Bhandup in connection with the plot, police said.
Two sophisticated pistols and 12 live rounds were seized from the trio, which was planning to shoot Pramod Patil, a builder in Dombivali, who is believed to have been associated with a political party, police sources said.

The accused were found to have had a criminal history.
Acting on a specific information received by sleuths of Anti-Extortion Cell (AEC) of the Crime Branch, a trap was laid near Mangatram Petrol Pump where the alleged members of Pujari gang were found moving suspiciously.
"The sleuths apprehended the trio and confiscated two sophisticated 7.65 bore pistols and 12 rounds," Acting Crime Branch Chief and Additional Police Commissioner (EOW) Rajvardhan Sinha said.

The trio was today produced before a court, which remanded them in police custody till March 19.
"The arrested accused had been instructed to bump off a Dombivali-based known personality. Our timely action has prevented a possible shooting at the victim," said Vinayak Vast, in-charge of the AEC.

Police did not provide the details as to when the trio planned to execute the killing, how much commission was received by them to commit the crime and from where the weapons were procured, among others.