PUNE: Residents of a housing society on DSK Vishwa Road in Dhayari woke up around 3am on Wednesday to the sound of and explosion triggered by a 20-year-old youth and his friend to scare a woman with whom the former had a relationship.
The woman lived in one of the buildings in the society. The Sinhagad Road police on Thursday arrested Kishore Modak and his friend, Akshay Suryavanshi (24). Both are residents of Wadki on Saswad Road and have been charged under section 286 (negligent conduct with respect to explosive substance) of the Indian Penal Code.
“Modak and his friend had planned the explosion to scare the woman. They had removed explosive powder from firecrackers and stuffed a box with it. They also kept ball bearings in the box and lit it with a matchstick,” Sinhagad Road police sub-inspector Girish Sonawane said.
The sound of the explosion in the middle of the night triggered panic among the residents of the housing societies along the road in Dhayari. Pravin Petkar, a resident of Alok Park society on the area, complained that the windowpane of his flat was damaged by the explosion.
The police said they did not have much clues about who were involved in the explosion. “While checking the CCTV footage, we saw a car moving away from the area immediately after the explosion. We traced the car to Wadki near Saswad and took Modak into custody for questioning,” Sonawane said.
During questioning, Modak admitted to his involvement in the explosion and also revealed the name of his accomplice, Suryavanshi. “We have arrested both of them,” Sonawane said.
Modak runs a cellphone shop in Wadki and would often come to Dhayari to meet his aunt. “He developed a relationship with his aunt’s neighbour. The two were in a relationship for two years,” Sonawane said, adding, “Modak was upset after he recently broke up with the woman and decided to avenge scare her.”
With Suryavanshi, who is a security guard, Modak filled explosive powder and ball bearings into a box and Dhayari around 3am on Wednesday. “They lit the box a few buildings away from where the woman lived and fled the spot,” Sonawane said.
Representative image
