Pune: The Pune police have initiated the process to move the sessions court seeking cancellation of gangster Suryakant alias Bandu Andekar’s bail in 17 criminal cases. This follows the Sept 5 killing of Ayush Komkar (18) in Nana Peth, which was part of a gang rivalry.Ayush’s murder was to avenge Andekar’s son and former NCP corporator Vanraj’s murder in which Ayush’s father Ganesh is one of the 21 jailed accused, police said. Ganesh is married to Kalyani, one of Vanraj’s sisters with whom the former corporator was involved in a property dispute. This resulted in Ganesh joining hands with rival gangster Somnath Gaikwad to kill Vanraj on Sept 1 last year, police said.Deputy commissioner of police (crime) Nikhil Pingale on Monday told TOI: “There are 17 cases registered against Bandu Andekar at various police stations in the city between 1981 and 2023, apart from the present case in which he has been named a key conspirator along with 12 others. So far, Andekar has not been convicted in any of these cases, but in view of Ayush Komkar’s murder, we are asking all the police stations concerned to review individual cases pending against Andekar and initiate a proposal to get his bail cancelled.“There are seven criminal cases registered against Bandu Andekar’s other son, Krishna, between 1981 and 2023, Pingale said. “Three cases have been registered against another family member, Shubham Andekar, between 2016 and 2025,” he added.Joint commissioner of police Ranjan Kumar Sharma said police have arrested one of the shooters, Yash Siddeshwar Patil, and another person, Amit Prakash Patole, in the Ayush Komkar murder case. “Their questioning has revealed that Bandu Andekar is the main conspirator. Andekar along with other conspirators, Krishna and Shubham, are on the run. Once we get Andekar, we will be in a position to unearth the larger conspiracy and establish the role of the co-conspirators among other accused involved in the crime.“Police are collecting proper evidence to make a watertight case against Andekar and others once they are arrested, Sharma said. “We will ensure that they do not get bail for the next few years,” he said.A crime branch officer, who did not wish to be named, said a special MCOCA court in 2023 restrained Andekar from entering Pune district while granting him default bail in the murder case of Navnath Akhade, a member of the Somnath Gaikwad gang. Andekar later shifted his place of residence from Nana Peth to Baramati. A police team conducted searches there, but he fled after he was named as one of the co-accused in the Ayush Komkar murder case, the officer said.Ayush’s last rites were performed at Vaikunth crematorium in Navi Peth amid tight police security. Ganesh Komkar was allowed to attend funeral of his son under police escort and was later sent back to the Yerawada jail. Samarth police had served a notice on the Komkar family that only 25 people should attend the funeral.
