Navi Mumbai: The Koparkhairane police have yet to recover the firearm in the incident involving a 21-year-old man who was arrested for firing three rounds at his 20-year-old ex-girlfriend, in which one bullet pierced her back and another bullet grazed her 23-year-old elder sister’s head near the ear, as she shielded her, at their chawl house in Sector-1 behind Terna College on Thursday around 9.30 pm. The weapon was taken away by his maternal uncle during the chaos when the accused was caught by the locals after which the cops reached the spot and arrested the accused.The firing incident was an outcome of a breakup in love relationship between the accused Arjun Subhash Chavan and the injured woman Tanu Pradeepkumar Dhobi, a college student, whose father runs a laundry at their SS-type chawl house in sector-1, Koparkhairane.Amol Deshmukh, senior inspector of Koparkhairane informed that, the accused Arjun Chavan when arrested was not found in possession of the firearm that he had used to fire on the sisters. He claimed that his distant maternal uncle identified as Rakesh Chavan (27), a local resident, had taken away the weapon when he was caught by the locals while escaping. We have launched a manhunt for Rakesh Chavan as the recovery of weapon used in crime is a vital evidence. Once Rakesh Chavan is apprehended and if the firearm used in the crime is recovered from him, he will be made a co-accused in the attempt to murder case for aiding the accused Arjun Chavan in the crime. The accused had fired three rounds on Tanu Dhobi with the intention to kill her, when one bullet pierced her back. As her elder sister Ritu shielded her while Arjun fired two more rounds, one bullet grazed Ritu’s head near the ear, while they ducked the third bullet. As the sisters shouted for help, Arjun ran away. The locals chased him in the narrow lane and caught him at about 500 metres from the crime scene. Thereafter, our police team reached the spot and arrested the accused Arjun Chavan, who runs a roadside vada pav stall and resides in SS-type chawl house in sector 2, Koparkhairane.SPI Deshmukh said, “From the crime scene, the forensic team has collected two fired bullets, one empty cartridge, samples of blood of the injured sisters that spilt in their house due to bullet injuries and one slipper found near the house door, which is believed to be of the accused, as the injured sisters’ mother Saroj Dhobi (40), who is the complainant, claimed that the slipper was not of any of their family members. The injured sisters were rushed to NMMC Hospital, Vashi. As a bullet was lodged in Tanu’s back very close to the spinal cord, the surgery being critical, she was referred to JJ Hospital. Hence, a police team, accompanied by the father of the injured sisters, took them to JJ Hospital, where the bullet lodged in Tanu’s back was removed successfully. Fortunately, her internal organs were not damaged due to the bullet injury. Both the sisters are out of danger and recuperating at JJ Hospital. On Friday, the Belapur Sessions Court remanded the accused Arjun Chavan to police custody for four days. A criminal case of attempt to murder along with Indian Arms Act has been registered against the accused Arjun Chavan.”
