Turned

A wrestler-turned-criminal, Sagar Kisam Moholkar (32), who had sustained serious bullet injuries in a firing incident in Ahilyanagar district earlier this month, died while undergoing treatment at the Sassoon General Hospital in Pune on Monday.

Police said Moholkar hailed from Jamwadi in Jamkhed taluka of Ahilyanagar district.

He had gained notoriety after slappingPunegangster Nilesh Ghaiwal during a wrestling event in Dharashiv district in April last year.

Moholkar had been booked in five criminal cases, including two murders and other offences.

He had been lodged in jail but was released on bail in January this year.

Two motorcycle-borne youths allegedly opened fire at Moholkar around 7.30 pm on May 4 at Noorani Colony in Jamkhed while he was walking towards his home.

Police said the assailants fired seven bullets, leaving Moholkar in a pool of blood.

An offence of murder was registered in this case at the Jamkhed police station.

Moholkar was initially rushed to a private hospital for treatment.

He was later taken to the government hospital in Ahilyanagar and subsequently shifted to Sassoon General Hospital in Pune.

Police Inspector Dashrath Choudhary of Jamkhed police station confirmed that Moholkar succumbed to his injuries on Monday.

Choudhary said, “Probe has revealed that members of the Nilesh Ghaywal gang attacked Moholkar due to the past rivalry.

We have so far arrested two persons, both linked to Nilesh Ghaywal, in this case.

Search for a few more accused is on.

Murder charges would be invoked against the accused persons.”
Meanwhile, Ghaywal, a resident of the Kothrud area in Pune city and a notorious gangster on police records, is currently believed to be in the United Kingdom.

He is alleged to have fled the country using a fraudulently obtained passport.

In December last year, a court in Pune had declared Ghaywal an absconder.

Police said attempts are underway to nab Ghaywal and bring him back to India with the help of Interpol.

Police had intensified action against Nilesh Ghaywal after his gang members allegedly opened fire and attacked innocent persons in the Kothrud area in September last year.

Since then, police have registered 11 cases against the Ghaywal gang, of which the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) has been invoked in five.

Police said Ghaywal allegedly travelled abroad using a passport obtained illegally.

According to police, Ghaywal had applied for a tatkal passport at the regional passport office in Pune in 2019, mentioning that he was a resident of “Gauri Ghumat, Anandi Bazar, Maliwada Road, Ahmednagar (now renamed Ahilyanagar)” and changing the spelling of his name to Gaiwal.

Failing to locate him at this address, Ahilyanagar police entered a “not available” remark on his application, which was forwarded to the passport office in Pune on January 16, 2020.

Despite this, a passport was issued to Ghaywal, using which he left India and travelled to the UK on a visitor visa, police said.

Meanwhile, responding to a communication by Pune city police, the British High Commission confirmed in October that Ghaywal was located in the UK.

British officials also contacted the concerned authorities in the UK for Ghaywal’s detention and deportation.