PUNE: The Pune Rural police on Friday recovered the .25 Webley & Scott licensed pistol which Manorama Khedkar, mother of IAS trainee officer Puja Khedkar, is seen waving at some farmers in a video clip during an argument over a land ownership dispute at Dhadhawali village in Mulshi tehsil on June 5, 2023.
Manorama’s husband, Dilip, managed to obtain ad interim anticipatory bail till Thursday, July 25, from the court of additional sessions judge Ajit Mare in Pune.While Dilip Khedkar is also named in the gun case, he has eluding the police so far.
The police have registered a case of attempted murder, rioting, threatening and under the Arms Act against Manorama, Dilip and five others.
Manorama was arrested on Thursday from a homestay at Hirkaniwadi in Mahad taluka of Raigad district about 140 km from here. A Paud court remanded Manorama in police custody till July 20.
“Our local crime branch team recovered the pistol, along with three live cartridges and the original firearm licence document, during a search of Manorama’s bungalow in Baner between 12.30 pm and 2 pm on Friday. The search exercise was carried out in the presence of some family members and videographed. Nothing else that can be termed as incriminating was found,” superintendent of police (Pune rural) Pankaj Deshmukh said.
He said that during Manorama’s custodial interrogation, they established the identities of the bouncers and others who accompanied her at the time of the incident. “We will establish individual roles of all the others named in the FIR and will take a call on their arrest,” he said.
The police said they would not be arresting Dilip till Thursday now because of the interim protection granted by the court. Dilip filed an anticipatory bail plea on Tuesday, July 16, when the police had not added the attempted murder charge in the case. All the other offences of rioting, threatening, and Arms Act violations were bailable.
The court directed that pending hearing and final disposal of the plea, in the event of his arrest, Dilip should be released on furnishing a personal bond of Rs 30,000 and one or more sureties in the like amount. The court restrained Dilip from contacting the complainant and witnesses by any communication mode or trying to influence them.
“Given the interim protection granted by the court, we won’t arrest Dilip Khedkar till July 25, when his plea is slated for the next hearing. We will oppose the bail relief to him at the next hearing by bringing to the court’s notice that an attempted murder charge has been added in the case,” Deshmukh said.