Pune: Five men riding on two motorcycles on Monday morning opened fire at an autorickshaw driver — brother of one of the suspects arrested in former corporator Vanraj Andekar murder case — from a close range, and assaulted him on face and head with sharp weapons on Pune-Satara Road in Dhankawdi.The suspects fired four bullets at the autorickshaw driver, Akshay Mhaske (26) of Ambegaon Pathar, around 9.50am. They assaulted him with sharp weapons after he fell on the road. Mhaske is recuperating in a private hospital in Dhankawdi.Pune commissioner of police (CP) Amitesh Kumar said, “The motive behind the attack is not yet known, but we suspect that Mhaske was targeted because of his brother. We suspect that (gangster Suryakant alias Bandu) Andekar hatched the murder conspiracy from prison to avenge his son’s murder.”Mhaske’s brother, Akash Mhaske, was arrested from Madhya Pradesh in 2024 for supplying firearms to the assailants of former corporator Vanraj, son of Bandu Andekar. The former PMC corporator was shot dead at Doke Talim Chowk in Nana Peth on Sept 1, 2024, over a property dispute. Vanraj’s sister Sanjeevani Komkar, her husband Jayant Komkar and her brother-in-law Ganesh Komkar were among those arrested in the case.The daylight firing and assault at a crowded chowk during peak traffic hours triggered panic among residents and passersby. Additional commissioner of police Rajesh Bansode said, “One bullet hit Mhaske’s thigh and another grazed his chest. Two bullets missed the target. There was no injury to his vital organs and he survived the attack.”Bansode said, “Mhaske does not have any criminal antecedents. But his brother has been linked to a gang that opposes the Andekars.”CP Kumar said, “We have identified the five suspects involved in the crime after studying the CCTV footage from the spot. They followed the autorickshaw on two motorcycles from Ambegaon Pathar.”According to the police, Mhaske had gone to an eatery at the chowk on Pune-Satara Road for breakfast. He was waiting inside his rickshaw for food when the five assailants arrived on two motorcycles and fired at him. The victim’s wife lodged a complaint.The CP said, “A case of attempt to murder has been registered at the Sahakarnagar police station against notorious gangsters Bandu alias Suryakant Andekar, Krishna Andekar, Ramoji Andekar, Tushar Wadekar, Swaraj Wadekar and the five assailants. Seven police teams have been deployed to trace the absconding attackers.”According to a source, investigators have found that the Andekar gang recruited associates with no criminal background from jail to carry out the attack.The source said Vanraj’s murder angered the Andekar family because he was not directly involved in crime. Members of the Andekar gang allegedly shot dead Ayush (20), son of accused Ganesh Komkar, inside a housing society on Sept 5, 2025, in retaliation for Vanraj’s murder. The murder of Ayush on the eve of the Ganesh immersion procession had caused a major uproar in the city.Ayush was the grandson (daughter’s son) of Bandu Andekar. He and his associates were arrested in the Ayush murder case.On Nov 1, 2025, the Andekar gang killed Ganesh Kisan Kale (32), brother of Samir Kale — another accused in the Vanraj murder case — by shooting him at Khadi Machine Chowk in Kondhwa. Kale was also an autorickshaw driver.
