Sensational crimes that shook Panvel

A symbol of an embodiment, Panvel offers a blend of modernity and our age-old traditions as it is one of the fastest developing real-estate hubs in Navi Mumbai. Karnala Fort, Karnala bird sanctuary, and Matheran are few of the popular tourist spots are near Panvel. However, the fast developing suburb of Panvel has witnessed some gruesome crimes over the years. From a drunk medical student ramming her car to duo killing friend by smashing head against a stone, sensational crimes have affected the peace and prosperity of the locality. We list a few incidents of crime stories from in and around Panvel that made the headlines

Updated On: 2019-07-15 10:30 AM IST

Youth beaten up, robbed of gold chain, cash at the railway station:

On November 21, 2018, in a shocking incident captured on CCTV, a 26-year-old commuter was assaulted and robbed right in the middle of a busy railway station at Khandeswar on the Harbour line. The youth was dragged away by four people before he could board the train and his gold chain and Rs 30,000 cash were stolen. The Panvel GRP arrested three accused, identified as Shrikant Kerappa Janar, 23, Nilesh Shinde,22, Parshuram Unale, 25. The fourth accused who was on the run was traced by the police and the gold chain was recovered from him.

Quick justice for train creep, jailed for 10 days:

On September 8, 2018, a 19-year-old who had harassed a woman passenger on a Panvel-bound local train was arrested three days later by CSMT Government Railway Police (GRP) at Masjid station. The accused, Iqbal Shaikh had unzipped his pants in front of a woman passenger. She narrated the whole incident to a co-passenger, Jitesh Utekar, an engineer, who then filed a complaint on September 7. The police immediately sprung into action and arrested the accused within three days. Iqbal was booked under sections 110 and 112 of the Maharashtra Police Act.

Drunk medical student rams into a car, argues with cops:

In August 2018, the Kamothe police arrested an MBBS student for ramming her car into another vehicle. The student, who was driving under the influence of alcohol had an altercation with the police. The youngster was on her way home after a party when she was unable to control her vehicle and allegedly dashed the vehicle into a Wagon R ahead of her, in the Navi Mumbai locality. The police registered an FIR against her for drink and rash driving. The next day she was let out on bail after her parents were called in and informed about the incident.

Bandra restaurant owner thrashes rickshaw driver:

On July 1, 2018, an autorickshaw driver Sagir Tamboli, 39, was allegedly assaulted by a man who claimed to be the owner of Sigdi Restaurant in Bandra, and two of his associates. According to the rickshaw driver's FIR, a middle-aged man hired his vehicle outside Panvel railway station for Bandra West for Rs 900. Tamboli took the old Mumbai-Pune highway and arrived at Sigdi Restaurant at around 3 am. The man and his two associates kept consuming alcohol and abused rickshaw drivers in general throughout the journey. The three men had a wooden stick with them with which they allegedly assaulted and abused the driver instead of paying him. The driver sustained injuries and managed to escape from the spot. Post which he filed a complaint and a case was registered under Sections 323 (voluntarily causing hurt), 324 (voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons), 504 (intentional insult) and 34 (common intention). The investigation is underway.

Thieves flag down man on Panvel road, rob him of thousands:

On May 7, 2018, a 39-year-old man was robbed of his cell phone and Rs 14,500 while he was driving to Panvel from Thane. The incident took place when the man was travelling alone in his car on the Panvel-Mumbra road. Two men stopped the car and told him that something was wrong with the car and looted him. The Kalamboli police registered a case against unidentified people.

Cops catch phone thieves after 360 km chase:

PI Dnyaneshwar Baban Katkar (Panvel GRP) and his team were working on a mobile theft case at Khandeswar railway station when they spotted a suspect, but, as they started walking towards him, he ran. The police chased him but he managed to jump in a stationed Tavera car and took off. The GRP team chased the car and the police finally caught up after a chase of over 5 hours and 360 km. The robbers had taken the Pune Expressway from Panvel and seamless coordination between highway traffic police, Pune city/rural police, the Satara SP and Kolhapur SP, helped the Panvel police nab the robbers. The police found 19 phones in their cars and all five were booked under relevant sections of the IPC.

Duo takes revenge for slap, kill friend by smashing head against a stone:

On March 7, 2018, two Panvel-residents were arrested by the Mumbai Police for killing a man. The culprits smashed the victim's head against a stone at Haji Malang, Kalyan in an act of revenge. The arrested accused were identified as 24-year-old Vilas Dhongade and 21-year-old-Akash Shelke. The duo reportedly invited their friend Farat to have alcohol with them. Once the victim was drunk, the accused smashed his head with stones and killed him. They then proceeded to hide his body in a gorge. The two accused revealed that they murdered Farat as he had allegedly slapped Dhongade. Apparently, Farat and the accused were good friends, but a few days before the murder, they had a small fight, and Farat reportedly slapped Dhongade. The two were booked under Sections 302 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code for murder. 

Teen raped by a friend, dies on her way to the hospital after giving birth at home:

On February 12, 2018, a 17-year-old girl died on her way to the hospital after giving birth to a child at her home. The girl was allegedly raped and impregnated by a college-mate in Panvel. The girl's family found out about the incident during the 20th week of her pregnancy. Since abortion was not an option, the family decided to keep the pregnancy away from the prying eyes of neighbours, calling her condition as a stomach infection instead. However, the girl developed complications and passed away on her way to the hospital. The accused 17-year-old rapist is on the run when he came to know about the girl's death. The police registered an FIR against the accused minor under Sections 376, 506 and 314 of the Indian Penal Code for rape, criminal intimidation and for death caused by an act done with intent to cause miscarriage. Further investigation is underway.

Man impregnates friend's 16-year-old daughter:

On November 11, 2017, a 49-year-old man was arrested for impregnating his friend’s 16-year-old daughter. The man had come to Panvel in 2014 after spending 22 years in Kuwait and used to visit the girl’s home as he was a 'close family friend'. The man befriended the girl, a class XI student, during his visits and won her confidence. He managed to convince her that he loved her and wanted to marry her. She fell for his trick and agreed to marry him. The man eloped with the girl when she was on her way to college. The accused and the victim were traced to Taloja where the accused had rented out a flat and the duo were staying together. The girl was 11 weeks pregnant when the duo was found by the cops. Post his arrest, the accused was booked under section Sections 376 and 363 of the IPC and the Protection Of Children from Sexual Offences Act. 

Sex abuse victim fears revenge attack from culprit:

An eight-year-old boy from Panvel who was sexually abused for over a month was living in fear of a vengeful attack from one of the alleged abusers. On April 30, 2017, the boy's mother approached the police, alleging that two men, Waseem Chalkar (40) and Faizan Patel (25), had abused him for a month. Chalkar was arrested the same day, while Patel absconded. The family said that post registering the complaint, they were living in fear every day. One of the police officer associated with Panvel City said that they received two tip-offs about his presence in Mumbra, but he escaped before our arrival. The investigation is underway.

Woman bag-lifter falls in cop trap after a brief chase:

On November 27, 2016, a woman bag-lifter, who was active on the Harbour line between Panvel and Mankhurd and the Trans-Harbour line between Panvel and Thane, and was involved in a number of cases, was finally arrested from Ghansoli station. The accused identified as Anita Shinde had alighted from a Panvel-Mankhurd train when a Railway Protection Force (RPF) officer started following her. When she realised that a cop was after her, she smartly kept the plastic bag that she was carrying near the foot-over-bridge (FOB) and continued walking. Thereafter, the officer informed a woman RPF staff, who immediately arrived at the spot and detained Shinde. On being interrogated, Shinde confessed that she was involved in a number of bag-lifting cases. Four mobile phones were recovered from the plastic bag that Shinde was carrying. The police confirmed that Anita was involved in six to seven cases of bag-lifting at Turbhe, Vashi and Mankhurd stations.

In picture: Accused Anita Shinde with the RPF officer and the woman constable. 

Politician booked for bigamy after actress complains:

On November 3, 2013, a Marathi actor approached the Mumbai Police cell and accused a Panvel-based politician, identified as Sidharth Banthiya, for marrying her despite still being married, and cheating her of Rs 6 lakh by promising a flat from the government quota for artists. In her complaint, the actress had alleged that Banthiya had shown her bogus divorce documents and pretended that he was already a divorcee, and convinced her to marry him. The two had come in contact through a common friend and got married on July 23, 2010. The actress claimed that after a few months of marriage, she got a call from a lady, who claimed to be his wife. The politician was booked under sections 467, 468, 420, 376, 494 and 506 of IPC. No information has been received on the case

Diamond merchant's 13-yr-old son abducted and killed by cousin, aide:

On May 14, 2013, a 13-year-old boy was kidnapped, killed and his body was dumped near Panvel on the Mumbai-Pune Expressway. Aditya Ranka, the son of a diamond merchant was kidnapped from his residence in Girgaum by his cousin’s friend, who drove him in his Honda City towards Panvel and later murdered him. Post his kidnapping, the family received a call from the kidnappers, who asked for Rs 30 lakh in ransom. Ironically, exactly Rs 30 lakh was present in the house. This made the police suspect that an insider was involved in the alleged kidnapping of Aditya. All this while, Aditya's cousin Himanshu Ranka was present in the house. Himanshu helped the family file the complaint and was also present at the police station. During the investigation, the boy’s parents used the Honda City owned by Ranka’s friend Vrijesh Sanghvi. They were shocked to find found blood stains in it. They also found Aditya’s slippers in the car. The police then took Ranka into custody and after interrogations, he confessed that he had killed Aditya with the help of his friend Vrijesh. The two accused were arrested and produced before the court. 

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