In a significant development, the Ahilyanagar district police have apprehended two additional suspects in connection with the high-profile murder of Aslam Shabbir Sheikh, widely known as Bunty Jagirdar. The victim was a co-accused in the notorious 2012 Pune JM Road serial bomb blasts case.
New Arrests Bring Total to Four
The latest arrests, made on Sunday, bring the total number of individuals held in the case to four. The police identified the duo as Santosh Rokde (22) and Mayur Wavdhane (25), both residents of Siddharthnagar locality in Shrirampur. Following their arrest, they were presented before the Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) in Shrirampur, who remanded them to a two-day police custody for further interrogation.
Sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) Jaydatta Bhawar informed that the investigation has uncovered a clear and active role played by Rokde and Wavdhane. "The duo arrested on Sunday acted as watchers and were passing on the information of Bunty Jagirdar's location to the two accused who carried out the shootout," Bhawar stated. Their role was deemed crucial in providing real-time intelligence to the shooters, which led to the fatal ambush.
The Fatal Ambush and Investigation Details
Aslam Shabbir Sheikh (53) was gunned down on December 31, 2025, near St. Luke's Hospital in Shrirampur town while he was returning home from a graveyard. The police revealed that the two shooters, already in custody, used foreign-made pistols of different calibers. One of the accused claimed to have emptied his entire magazine during the attack.
The post-mortem examination, conducted at the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, confirmed that Jagirdar sustained five bullet injuries:
- Three bullets to the chest
- One bullet to the hand
- One bullet to the leg
Empty cartridges from the scene and bullets extracted from the body have been sent for forensic ballistic examination.
Evidence Points to Coordinated Conspiracy
During searches following the recent arrests, police made critical recoveries. Apart from the personal mobile phones of the accused, investigators found three additional SIM cards and an extra mobile handset. It is believed these were used specifically for coordination between the watchers and the shooters to avoid detection by law enforcement. All seized electronic devices have been sent for technical analysis to examine call data records and establish communication links.
The complainant in the case, Jagirdar's cousin and newly elected councillor Raees Abdulgani Sheikh, has consistently maintained that the murder was a result of a well-planned conspiracy involving multiple persons. The police have registered the case under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and the Arms Act.
Authorities have indicated that further arrests cannot be ruled out as the investigation into this complex case continues to progress.
