Nagpur: Crime Branch Unit 3 on Tuesday nabbed the accused involved in murder of Gondegaon Deputy Sarpanch Vinod Somkuwar in June this year. Somkuwar (36) was brutally murdered by a group of assailants near Oriental Toll Plaza on Kanhan-Mansar Road on June 29, 2018.
The accused Vijay alias Raja Mathuraprasad Bundele alias Malviya (32), a resident of Shanti Nagar, was absconding since the past two months. Cops have also arrested Bundele’s accomplice Mohd Gulam Mohd Vakil Siddiqui (30), a resident of Ganjakhet.
Gold Rate
16April 2025
The Crime Branch sleuths, during the ‘Operation Crackdown,’ received a tip off that the absconding accused Raja Bundele, involved in murder of Vinod Yadavrao Somkuwar (36), Deputy Sarpanch of Gondegaon Gram Panchayat , was arriving at Kamaliposh Dargah, near Sut Market, Gandhibagh, along with his accomplice Mohd Gulam Mohd Vakil Siddiqui. Cops also received information that both the goons were carrying a country-made pistol and two live cartridges. Acting on the tip-off, the cops laid a trap around 11.45 pm on Monday and nabbed both the accused.
The accused Raja Bundele was in touch with Mohd Gulam to sell the weapon for Rs 20,000. After receiving a tip that Raja was coming to meet Gulam near the Dargah, the Crime Branch team zeroed in on the Dargah and arrested Raja with the weapon. After committing murder of Somkuwar, Raja Bundele fled to Madhya Pradesh. Raja was accused in 14 criminal cases including murder, extortion and robberies while Gulam had committed 13 offences including robberies, attempts to murder.
Both the arrested accused have been booked by Tehsil Police under Sections 3/25 of Arms Act and Section 135 of Maharashtra Police Act.
The arrests were made under the guidance of DCP Detection Sambhaji Kadam by Police Inspector Jagvendrasingh Rajput, Assistant Police Inspector Dnyaneshwar Bhedodkar, WAPI Mangala Mokashe and staff including Shatrughna Kadu, Shailesh Thawre, Suresh Hinganekar, Anil Dubey, Shyam Kadu, Atul Dawande, Milind Narsanne, Firoz and Shariff.
