Driver of Puja Khedkar’s father held in abduction case

The accused, identified as Praful Gnyaneshwar Salunkhe, was arrested from Shindkheda in Dhule district on Thursday after investigators tracked him using technical surveillance and local intelligence. He was produced before a Belapur court on Saturday and remanded in police custody till September 23.

The case stems from a September 13 accident near McDonald’s signal on the Mulund–Airoli highway, where a Land Cruiser allegedly brushed against a transit mixer truck. Police said the SUV’s owner, Dilip Khedkar, and his driver Salunkhe confronted the truck driver and his 22-year-old helper, Prahlad Kumar Chauhan, demanding money for repairs. When the demand was refused, the duo allegedly forced Chauhan into the SUV and drove him to the Khedkar family bungalow in Pune.

A complaint was filed by truck owner and sand trader Vilas Dengre at the Rabale police station, prompting a search operation. “The next day, the victim was traced to a flat in Aundh, Pune, and rescued during a raid led by API Deepak Kharat,” said an investigating officer.