Minor ‘linked to Bishnoi gang’ held with 2 pistols after Pune godown firing

3 min readPuneJul 9, 2026 02:53 PM IST

The Pune businessman received a call from a person claiming to be aide to gangster Lawrence Bishnoi. (File Photo)

The Pune city police have apprehended a 17-year-old boy allegedly linked to the Lawrence Bishnoi gang and arrested three others in connection with last month’s firing outside a businessman’s godown in Fursungi and an attempt to extort Rs 50 crore.

The businessman complained to the police that at 4.29 pm on June 22, he received a WhatsApp call from a person who identified himself as Arzoo Bishnoi, an aide to jailed gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, and demanded Rs 5 crore each from him and his nine business partners. A minute later, the businessman’s nephew also received a similar extortion call on WhatsApp from Arzoo Bishnoi, as per the FIR.

Following a police officer’s instructions, the businessman, a resident of Mohammadwadi in Hadapsar, called the WhatsApp number back around 7.27 pm, but received no response. Around 8.05 pm, he received a call from his brother stating that some people fired four bullets at their godown on the Hadapsar-Saswad road. The businessman and his nephew again received extortion calls and threats on WhatsApp at 9.30 pm, according to the FIR registered on June 23.

The police booked Arzoo Bishnoi for extortion and criminal intimidation as well as on charges under the Arms Act. They identified the arrested accused as Pavan Prakashram Barad, 24, of Hanumangarh in Rajasthan; Ravikumar Rajendrakumar Jangda, 33, of Sirsa in Haryana; and Satyaprakash Kaluram Shilora, 25, of Handewadi, Pune.

During the investigation, the police examined several CCTV cameras near the godown and other locations for clues about the shooters. They also found that the accused made extortion calls from international numbers using a virtual private network (VPN).

Multiple police teams were dispatched to Rajasthan, Gujarat, Punjab, and Haryana to trace the suspects.

The police arrested Pavan Barad in Rajasthan on July 2. Following leads obtained from him, they arrested Satyaprakash Shilora on July 4. Shilora allegedly worked at the businessman’s firm and provided information to Barad and Jangda, who allegedly fired the bullets. They arrested Jangda from Haryana and apprehended a minor boy from Rajasthan on July 7.

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Boy may have supplied the guns

The police said they seized a countrymade pistol and 10 live cartridges from Jangda and two countrymade pistols and 20 cartridges from the boy.

Rajendra Mulik, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Crime Branch, said the minor is suspected to have links with gangster Arzoo Bishnoi, who made the extortion calls. The police also suspect the boy was involved in supplying guns to Barad and Jangda for firing bullets at the businessman’s godown.

The police said Barad and Jangda might have met Shilora while working at steel manufacturing plants in Pune. Shilora allegedly provided them with a two-wheeler used in the crime. Jangda is a history sheeter in Haryana.

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The police are investigating whether the accused individuals played any role in the extortion calls demanding Rs 2 crore that a chemist at Wadki and a textile businessman in Uttam Nagar received last month.