Pune: Punawale resident Gaurav Mahesh Naidu (25), a Class XII dropout with a criminal record, was arrested on Saturday night near Khadki railway station, almost 36 hours after he tried to shoot his ex-girlfriend on the premises of a private company at Veerbhadranagar in Baner on Friday morning.The woman who is pursuing her MBA is working as an intern at the Baner firm. She survived the attack after the firearm malfunctioned.The police recovered a country-made pistol and three live cartridges from Naidu, as also a scooter used in the crime.Inspector Ajay Waghmare of the Baner police told TOI: “Naidu was doing odd jobs before the Pimpri Chinchwad police arrested him in an attempt to murder case, last year. He walked out of prison on bail six months ago.”Police said Naidu and the woman were introduced through a common friend and were in a relationship for some time, before the woman broke up. Naidu was pursuing her, but she continued to refuse his overtures.On Friday morning, Naidu wore the clothes of a delivery agent and followed the woman on his scooter from her house till the company. He parked his scooter nearby and approached her as she was entering the company premises. There was a brief verbal exchange and the man pulled out a firearm. He shot at the woman, but the firearm malfunctioned. The woman raised an alarm. Sensing trouble, Naidu fled on his scooter.Police studied CCTV footage of various spots in Baner, Katraj-Dehu Road bypass and Pimpri Chinchwad. “A tip-off revealed Naidu had been spotted near Khadki railway station. We knew he was armed, so we apprehended him quietly. We frisked him and checked his scooter’s compartment, where we found the firearm,” Waghmare said.Police had earlier tracked the movement of Naidu’s scooter from the scene of crime and from various establishments in Baner and Katraj-Dehu Road bypass. They had noted the scooter’s registration number. Police saw Naidu meet a man on the footage and tracked him. This man led the police to Naidu.
