Pune: Goons create ruckus, damage 10 vehicles

PUNE: Residents of Somwar Peth woke up to loud noises in the area in the early hours of Thursday when a group of men went on a rampage, damaging eight cars, an autorickshaw and a tempo parked along the road here with sharp weapons.
The Samarth police arrested two men, including a criminal on police records, and booked their five accomplices for damaging the vehicles on Friday.“The suspects damaged the vehicles with sharp weapons to terrorize the residents,” an officer of the Samarth police said.
A 48-year-old Somwar Peth resident has lodged a complaint with the Samarth police in this regard. “We have arrested Rutik Vairag (20) and Akshay Patil (20) of Mangalwar Peth in the case. Vairag has cases of body offences registered against him in the Peth areas,” sub-inspector Prabhakar Kapure of the Samarth police told TOI.
Around 3.30am on Thursday, the group arrived in Somwar Peth on their motorcycles and started screaming loudly, besides honking their vehicles. “They were wielding sharp weapons and went on the rampage, damaging the parked vehicles, especially near the historic Nageshwar temple,” another officer of the Samarth police said.
He said the group had picked up some dispute with their rival group in the Mangalwar Peth area. “The suspects arrived in Somwar Peth after the rival group did some damage to them,” the officer said, adding that they damaged windscreens, mirrors and rear windshield of the cars. “They also damaged the windscreens of the autorickshaw and the tempo,” he added.
Sub-inspector Kapure said the other suspects, who have gone underground after the incident, will be nabbed soon.
When contacted, the residents of the area were hesitant taking about the incident. “I don’t wish to recall or talk about the incident,” one of the residents, who looked quite shaken after the incident, said.
After much pestering, another resident said, “I woke up after hearing commotion on the road leading to the Narpatgiri Chowk around 3.15am on Thursday. When I looked out from the window of my house, I saw two to three men on their motorcycles, creating a ruckus. They were brandishing sharp weapons.” He immediately called up his friends in the area and informed them about the men creating ruckus.
“By the time I and my friends came down to take stock of the situation, the men had left the area. They, however, damaged many parked vehicles before leaving. We all were very scared,” he said.