Duo was acquitted in a murder case a few days ago and wanted to convey the news to imprisoned gang members; they have been arrested
The police have arrested two men for bursting firecrackers outside the Yerawada jail with the intention of conveying a message to members of their gang lodged in the jail. The duo had lit the fireworks outside the Madi gate of the Yerawada Central Prison to let their gang members know that they had been acquitted in a murder case.
CRACKER CODE: The duo lit fireworks outside the Madi gate of the Yerawada jail. Pics/Mohan Patil
“This messaging modus operandi has been in use by the inmates and their accomplices for the past few months. Jail authorities had noticed it, following which two jail guards have been deployed to prevent such incidents,” said a source from the jail police staff.
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Bhimrao Krishna Thorat (44), a jail guard deployed outside the gate, had spotted two youth on Tuesday with crackers in their hand around 7 pm. The duo then lit the crackers and, when Thorat tried to stop them, the youths attempted to fling some crackers inside the jail premises.
They were then taken into custody and were later identified as Sameer Vilas Dhamale (26), a resident of Kelewadi in Kothrud, and Vijay Dattu Kangude (34), a resident of Shramik Vasahat at Paud Road. They were handed over to the Yerawada police and have been charged under Sections 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of his duty), 332 (voluntarily causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty) and 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code.
Assistant Police Inspector S S Bendre said, “Dhamale and Kangude are members of the notorious Gajya Marne gang and both were accused in a murder case. They were out on bail, while their other accomplices are still lodged in jail. They were then acquitted in the murder case by the court a few days ago.”
“The accomplices of the two accused were not present in the court and hence were unaware of the verdict. Dhamale and Kangude wanted to let their gang members know about their acquittal in the murder case and hence decided to burst crackers outside the jail,” Bendre said.
A senior jail guard said, “Many young men associated with different gangs operating in Pune and outside the city are involved in such acts. If any work related to the gang has been completed or if a court verdict goes in the favour of their gang members, other members burst crackers outside the jail.”
“Some youngsters were nabbed committing a similar act last month too, after which the jail administration took a decision to deploy two jail guards at the Madi gate during the evenings. This has yielded results for us,” he added.
Despite repeated attempts, Yerawada Jail Superintendent Yogesh Desai was unavailable for comment.
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