The city police shot dead Amol Khotkar, the suspected mastermind behind the dacoity at the residence of industrialist Santosh Laddha in Bajajnagar, during an encounter at midnight on Monday.
Police said that they received the information that the suspect Khotkar is coming to Wadgaon Kolhati area on Monday night. On the sight of the police, he started firing on the police and also tried to put the car on them. The police retreated and fired on the car.
Industrialist Santosh Laddha lives with his wife and son in a bungalow in Bajajnagar. His other son is studying in America. On May 7, his entire family had gone to America to attend the graduation ceremony of his son. Meanwhile, caretaker of the bungalow Sanjay Zalke was alone in the house. On May 15, some unidentified dacoits forcibly entered in the house and tied Zalke with rope. They later stole around 5.5 kgs gold and 32 kgs silver, amounting to around Rs 6.5 crore and fled away. A case was registered with the Waluj MIDC police station.
The police investigated for around 11 days but could not gain any success in the investigation. However, the senior officers on the basis of the technical and other evidences found some clue in the matter. Five suspects were arrested but the mastermind of the dacoity Khotkar was at large.
When the police launched a massive manhunt for him, they received the information that he is coming to Wadgaon Kolhati on Monday at around 11 pm. Accordingly, the police team laid a trap at Sai Garden Lodging and Boarding.
Khotkar came there at around 11 pm. The police asked him to surrender, but he started firing on the police team and with the intention to escape from the scene, put his car on the police team. In reply, the police also fired on the car and Khotkar was injured. He was taken to the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), where the doctors declared him dead upon arrival.
