Dey probe led to bonus arrest

A wanted Kumar Pillai gang sharpshooter landed in the police net and was booked for possessing illegal firearms after his name was cleared in the murder

Dey probe led to bonus arrest

A wanted Kumar Pillai gang sharpshooter landed in the police net and was booked for possessing illegal firearms after his name was cleared in the murder
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THE J Dey murder investigation has led to the police scoring a bonus through the arrest of one of the key sharpshooters of the Kumar Pillai gang.

Sharpshooter Anil Ramsevak Pandeyu00a0has more than a dozen cases pending against him. He was believed to have been involved in the J Dey murder case

Anil Ramsevak Pandey (27), who has more than a dozen cases pending against him, was believed to have been involved in the journalist's slaying but was booked for carrying illegal firearms after his name was cleared in the case.

Soon after Dey's murder, when police were on the lookout for gangsters with .32 bore revolvers, the Anti-Robbery Squad (ARS) received a tip-off that Pandey was in possession of one.

Two constables, Daya Mohite and Arun Phansalkar, began keeping a tab on Pandey and received information that he would meet a friend at Metro Mall in Bhandup on June 24. The police laid a trap for him and recovered a .32 bore revolver, a pistol and three live cartridges.

Pandey's interrogation, however, revealed that he was not involved in the murder, following which he was arrested for possessing illegal firearms.

The sharpshooter, who was earlier associated with the Chhota Rajan gang, has cases, including those of murder and attempt-to-murder, pending against him in the Colaba, Bhandup, Vikhroli, Ulhasnagar and Ratnagiri police stations.

A BMC teacher's son from Jaunpur and a Kalwa resident, Pandey has been accused of firing at noted businessman Annu Manwani in Ulhasnagar and Congress leader Sudam Bandivadekar at Kankavali. He is also an accused in the murder of Sudam Magade at Vikhroli.

u00a0"We have arrested Pandey with illegal firearms. Investigation is on," said Praful Bhosale, senior inspector, ARS.