Pune: Pune Police have arrested five youths for allegedly posting threatening messages on Instagram in support of the Andekar gang. They were paraded through the street as a punishment by the officials of Samarth Police Station.
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Some days ago, they had posted a reel on Instagram which was violent and triggering. The reels included a caption in Marathi that read, “Badla toh fix, reply hoga. Aata fakt body moza kutryano” (translated: “Revenge is fixed; there will be a reply. You dogs, now just count the bodies.” The caption hinted that the Instagram user threatened deaths, murders and violence in reply to the arrests of the Andekar family.
Sr PI Umesh Gitte, in charge of the Samarth Police Station, said, "A case was registered against five accused for creating fear and issuing violent threats on social media. They have been arrested and booked under the BNS sections 353(2), 125, and 3(5)."
The accused have been identified as Manthan Sachin Bhalerao, Faizan Shaikh, Piyush Bidkar, Atharva Nalawade, and Omkar Meragu, all residents of Pune. Police said the five were arrested on Saturday. The arrests were made following a digital surveillance operation that traced the threatening stories to their respective social media accounts.
The Andekar family, led by gangster Suryakant, alias Bandu Andekar, has been in the limelight recently over a number of serious criminal and financial allegations. They are accused of revenge killing Ayush Komkar (18). This was done in retaliation for Bandu's son Vanraj Andekar's death in September 2024. Since then, arrests and action have been done by Pune police to prevent gang war.
The accused, who posted threatening messages on social media, were arrested and paraded. Police teams seized mobile phones and other electronic devices used to upload the posts. “Such messages create public panic and glorify gang culture. Strict legal action will be taken against anyone spreading threats online,” said a police officer.
All five accused have been remanded to police custody for further investigation. The police are also probing whether more people were involved in circulating similar content or supporting the gang through social media platforms.
