Gokulpeth shootout Violence averted as target skipped Ambedkar Jayanti procession

DCP Detection Rahul Maknikar adressing the press conference after arresting the accused.

Staff Reporter :

Five arrested in Avinash Bhusari murder case

The police on Sunday revealed that the Hiranwar gang, arrested for the murder of cafe owner Avinash Bhusari, had originally planned to assassinate Pravesh Gupta - a member of Sekhu gang, during the Ambedkar Jayanti procession. Police say the group’s first target was Gupta, not Bhusari. On April 14, there was a plan to kill Gupta during the Ambedkar Jayanti procession in Pandhrabodi. The gang had confirmed that Gupta would be at the event and they had planned to shoot him there.

However, Gupta did not attend the procession, and the plan failed. If the shooting had happened, it could have caused serious violence in the city. Despite knowing this, the gang was ready to go ahead with their plan and create fear among people.

The murder, which took place late at night on April 15 in the bustling Gokulpeth area, sent shockwaves throughout the city. Bhusari was fatally shot at point-blank range outside his cafe while eating ice cream with his manager. The assailants, arriving on two vehicles, fired six rounds - five of which struck Bhusari in the head, killing him on the spot.

According to senior police officials, a multi-state manhunt was launched immediately after the incident and the three dedicated police teams were deployed to track the fugitives across multiple cities including Bhopal, Kolkata, Visakhapatnam, Tirupati, and Gondia.

The accused - identified as Bunty Hiranwar (31), Ankit Hiranwar (22), Adarsh alias Gotya Walke (20), Shibbu Rajesh Yadav (20), and Rohit alias Bhikku Meshram (20), all residents of Kachipura, Bajaj Nagar - were constantly on the move. They were changing mobile devices and SIM cards to mislead investigators. Despite this, the Crime Branch used advanced technical surveillance and intelligence gathering to trace their movements.

The breakthrough came when officers tracked the suspects from Visakhapatnam to Tirupati Balaji, then to Ballarshah and finally to Gondia. The Crime Branch teams moved in. Shailesh alias Bunty Hiranwar and his accomplices were arrested at Navegaon Bandh Railway Station, while others were nabbed from Gondia bus station as they attempted to flee.

“This operation demanded continuous coordination, technical expertise and the relentless effort of our officers. The accused were extremely cautious, but our teams stayed a step ahead,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) Detection Rahul Maknikar while adressing a press conference on Sunday.

With five suspects now in custody, the police have intensified their efforts to trace the remaining accused - Sahil alias Sonu Shendre (29), Shakti Rajesh Yadav (27), Saurabh alias Monya Kalsarpe (30), Hrithik Dheeraj Hiranwar (25), Rahul Bawne, and Ankush Bakra. Two other accused persons, Simran Lokhande and Vrishabh Wankhade, have already been arrested for providing shelter to the fugitives after the murder.

Under the guidance of DCP Rahul Maknikar, the arrest was made by PI Mahesh Sagde, APIs Gajanan Chambhare, Nitin Chulpar, Manoj Raut, PSI Vivek Zingre, and staff including Kamplesh Ganer, Naresh Tumdam, Sandip Changole, Mahendra Sadmake, Shailesh Jambhulkar, Gajanan Kubde, Rajesh Deshmukh, Dinesh Dawre, Pravin Rode, Rajesh Tiwari, Sunil Kuwar, Pravin Shelke, Suresh Telewar, Ashish Dhandre, Purushottam Naik, Shekhar Raghorte, Dhiraj Panchbhave, Ananta Kshirsagar, Sandip Pande, Sudhir Pawar, Hansaraj Thakur, Vivek Shripad, Pravin Chauhan and others.