Land developer’s assailants still at large, search operation on

PUNE: The two real estate agents, who gunned down land developer Deven Shah late on Saturday night near his residence off Prabhat Road, managed to evade arrest till Tuesday night despite police launching a search operation in different parts of western Maharashtra.
The crime branch of the Pune police and the Deccan Gymkhana police teams have been trying hard to nab the two suspects. But the 14 teams could not apprehend the duo till Tuesday night, a source in the police said.

The police teams are searching the two suspects in different towns of Pune district as well as in Solapur, Satara and other neighbouring districts. But they managed to give police the slip so far.

A senior police officer told TOI that the two suspects were on the run. "We are tracking down their movements but they have so far managed to evade the arrest," he said.

The police have confirmed the identity of the two assailants, who happen to be real estate agents. The suspects had a tiff with the deceased land developer, Shah, over the issue of their "commission" of a property deal in which they had acted as mediators. The suspects, according to the police, had an ongoing dispute with Shah for the past one year about an increase in their commissions for a land parcel in Paud, which they had secured for the deceased developer.

Shah, who was into property sales, purchase and development of land, was shot at in the parking lot of his housing society Sayali in Lane 7 off Prabhat Road around 11.15pm on Saturday. He succumbed to bullet injuries while undergoing treatment in a private hospital.

On Monday, additional commissioner of police (south region) Ravindra Sengaonkar, deputy commissioner of police (zone I) Basavraj Teli and senior inspector Ajay Kadam of Deccan Gymkhana police station reviewed the crime scene and examined the CCTV footage. The CCTV cameras placed in the parking area of the building captured the brazen attack on the developer in which the two men are spotted opening fire at the victim and then fleeing on a motorcycle.

Police said the two were demanding enhanced commission from Shah and discussions were on. The property has been under litigation for several years and the two suspects had dealt with it. Shah and his associate then bought the land, police added.

One of the assailants became a father three months ago. " They may have been in need of money and, hence demanded enhanced commission from the developer," a police officer said.