Pune's forgotten hostage rescues recall police brilliance

While Mumbai Police earned nationwide praise for Thursday’s dramatic hostage rescue in Powai, where 50-year-old Rohit Arya was shot dead after holding 19 people captive for five hours, two remarkable cases from Pimpri-Chinchwad in 2017 and 2018 remind citizens that such heroism and patience are not new to Maharashtra Police.

- Varad Bhatkhande

Maahi Jain Kidnapping, 2018

In November 2018, 12-year-old Maahi Avadh Jain was abducted near her Chinchwad home by two men — Nitin Gajarmal and Jitendra Banjara — who demanded Rs50 lakh ransom. The case, the first major challenge for the newly formed Pimpri-Chinchwad Police Commissionerate, sent shockwaves through the city.

A witness informed the police and Maahi’s parents immediately, but the social media frenzy risked exposing the police operation. Acting swiftly, Senior PI Sudhir Aspat, then head of the Anti-Extortion Cell, tracked the kidnappers to a flat in Xrbia Housing Society, Nere, near Hinjawadi.