Pune Crime Files: How activities of recently arrested ‘Maoist', known as ‘Laptop', resemble that of convicted Naxal Arun Bhelke
In 2014, the Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) arrested Arun Bhelke and his wife Kanchan Nanaware from Pune for activities linked to the banned Communist Party of India (CPI-Maoist). While Kanchan, a heart patient, died on January 24, 2021, following a prolonged illness, on December 14, 2022, a special court in Pune convicted Bhelke for cheating and forgery, besides sections of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) for terrorist acts.
Investigators have observed significant similarities in Bhelke's operations and that of alleged CPI Maoist member Prashant Jalinder Kamble, 44, alias Laptop alias Sunil Jadhav, who was arrested by ATS from Pune, on May 4 this year.
As per police and court records, both Bhelke and Kamble allegedly operated with multiple false identities and procured IDs with fake names. Both were allegedly working in urban areas, residing in Khalapur and other places in Maharashtra's Raigad district. Both allegedly worked closely with top CPI Maoist leader Milind Teltumbde, who was gunned down by the police in Gadchiroli in November 2021. Investigators had also seized a 'letter' from Bhelke mentioning 'Laptop'.
Arun Bhelke and Kanchan Nanaware
ATS nabbed Bhelke and Kanchan from Pune on September 1, 2014. The police said Bhelke alias Rajan alias Sharman Jadhav alias Anand was previously arrested in a Naxal case in Chandrapur in 2008. Out on bail, he and Kanchan, both from Chandrapur, were allegedly given charge of the Golden Corridor Committee of CPI-Maoist, to spread the banned movement in urban areas like Mumbai, Pune, Thane, Nashik and Surat, officers said.
As per the ATS chargesheet, Bhelke allegedly introduced himself as 'Sanjay Kamble' to some of the youths from the Kashewadi slum in Pune, gave them Maoist literature and planned to take them for 'training' in the jungle.
The police said that during their college days, Bhelke and Kanchan were active members of the Chandrapur-based Deshbhakti Yuva Manch (DYM), alleged to be a 'front' of the CPI-Maoist. Officers said Bhelke also started a magazine College Katta in Chandrapur, but later he and his aides, including Kanchan, were allegedly indoctrinated by Maoist leaders.
Surrendered Naxals Gopi Madavi and Krushna Dorpate had identified Arun as 'Rajan' and Kanchan as 'Bhoomi' before the court in Pune and submitted that the couple allegedly worked alongside Milind Teltumbde with armed Maiost cadres in Gadchiroli.
According to the ATS, the couple resided at various places in Mumbai, Raigad, Pune with different names. ATS recovered a PAN card and Aadhaar card with the name Aditya Suresh Patil, bearing Bhelke's photo. The address on this Aadhaar card was found to be the office of the then corporator from the Govandi area in Mumbai. Besides, ATS had seized a PAN card and a Mumbai hospital patient identity card with the name Sonali Aditya Patil having Kanchan's photo.
The ATS probe also revealed Bhelke and Kanchan had, before their arrest, allegedly taken different rooms on rent in Khalapur and Karjat in Raigad district, posing as Akash Narayan Bhagat and Shital Akash Bhagat.
Around August 2014, they shifted to Pune and Bhelke took a room and a 'pan tapri (kiosk)' on rent at Kanhe Phata in Maval, allegedly under a fake name.
When they were arrested, ATS had seized several documents, handwritten papers and electronic material like laptop, pen drive, DVD, hard disc from the couple. Alleged secret Maoist communications were reportedly retrieved from the seized electronic devices.
Conviction and link to 'Laptop'
During the trial, special public prosecutor Ujjwala Pawar had referred to alleged CPI-Maoist party documents like the 'Strategic and Tactics of Indian Revolution' and 'Our Work in Urban Areas', seized from the accused.
Pawar had told the court that as per the 'secret agenda' stated in the strategy documents of CPI Maoist, Bhelke worked as 'PR (professional revolutionaries)' of the banned group in urban areas, using fake names and procuring fake identity cards. Pawar cited alleged secret letters as per which Bhelke had allegedly sought money from the Maoist party for Kanchan's medical needs and mentioned sending cadres for participating in Maoist activities.
Bhelke refuted the allegations. But the court sentenced him to eight years of rigorous imprisonment. He was released in April 2023.
Page 60 of the court's judgment has an alleged secret letter from Bhelke, stating, 'Laptop had a meeting with Sandip' and 'Laptop' talking about meeting 'DD'. The court observed that the letter was written in 'coded language' and if the accused was not an active member of a banned outfit, he had no reasons to communicate in such a manner.
The police suspect that 'Laptop' in this letter is possibly Prashant Kamble, who was on the run after the arrest of Teltumbde's wife Anjela Sontakke in a 2011 case of spreading CPI (Maoist) work in cities.
A police officer said that following Sontakke's arrest, Bhelke replaced her for 'urban work' and after he was nabbed, Kamble is suspected to have moved to Raigad over seven years ago for Maoist activities.
The Indian Express had reported how while on the run for 15 years, Kamble appeared in a short film posted on YouTube on March 10, 2018, which identified him as 'Sunil Jagtap Sir', working with children in the tribal areas of Khalapur in Raigad. The police said Kamble procured an Aadhaar card, PAN, voter ID and a passport under the name Sunil Jagtap on a Khalapur address.
Kamble's visit to protesting farmers in 2021, besides his trips to different states in India and also to Nepal are being probed by ATS.
Chandan Haygunde is an assistant editor with The Indian Express with 15 + years of experience in covering issues related to Crime, Courts, National Security and Human Rights. He has been associated with The Indian Express since 2007.
Chandan has done investigative reporting on incidents of terrorism, left wing extremism, espionage cases, wildlife crimes, narcotics racket, cyber crimes and sensational murder cases in Pune and other parts of Maharashtra.
While working on the 'Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) Fellowship on Tigers, Tiger Habitats and Conservation' in 2012, he reported extensively on the illegal activities in the Sahyadri Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra. He has done in-depth reporting on the cases related to the Koregaon Bhima violence in Pune and hearings of the 'Koregaon Bhima Commission of Inquiry'. ... Read More
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
27 minutes ago
- Time of India
'Bharat Mata' row continues in Kerala with Governor's tribute to portrait, CPI poster withdrawal
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel The ' Bharat Mata ' controversy continued in Kerala as Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar paid tributes to a 'Bharat Mata' portrait during Goa Day celebrations at the Raj Bhavan , while the CPI withdrew a local party event poster featuring a different version of the image, showing her holding the national part of the Goa Day celebrations at the Raj Bhavan in Thiruvananthapuram on Monday, Arlekar paid floral tributes to the same 'Bharat Mata' portrait which had resulted in State Agricultural Minister P Prasad boycotting the Environment Day event there last Foundation Day was celebrated at the Kerala Raj Bhavan as part of the ' Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat ' initiative, the Governor's office same day, the CPI withdrew a poster, in connection with a local party event here from June 13 to 15, that carried an image of 'Bharat Mata' dressed in a tricolor saree and holding the national flag.V B Binu, CPI District Secretary, said that as soon as information about the poster was received, instructions were given to withdraw it from social media to avoid "unnecessary controversy".He also said that it was not right to combine the national flag with party programmes or CPI, the second-largest partner in the ruling LDF in Kerala, was the first to object to the use of the 'Bharat Mata' portrait by the Raj leader and minister, Prasad, boycotted the Environment Day event at the Raj Bhavan as floral tributes had to be paid to the had later said that there was no official version of the 'Bharat Mata' according to the Constitution or the India government and the portrait at the event was widely used by the RSS Shortly thereafter, the CPI announced a campaign of hoisting the national flag and planting saplings before June 7, it hoisted national flags and planted saplings at all its branches and also raised ' Bharat Mata ki jai ' very next day, Arlekar took a dig at the Left party saying, "Those who never thought of 'Bharat Mata' are saying 'Bharat Mata ki jai'. That is a good contribution. I appreciate that." The same day, CPI(M) state secretary M V Govindan said that there was no concept of 'Bharat Mata' as it was not there in the Constitution.
India.com
an hour ago
- India.com
Meet IAS Amit Kataria: The Officer Who Took Just Rs 1 Salary Despite Belonging To Crorepati Business Family
photoDetails english 2913631 The UPSC Civil Services Examination (CSE) is one of India's most prestigious and competitive exams. It is conducted in three stages—Prelims, Mains, and Interview—to recruit candidates for top government posts like IAS, IPS, and IFS. Thousands apply each year, but only a few succeed in becoming civil servants. In India, civil servants are regarded as celebrities, with millions admiring their UPSC success and celebrating their achievements as top-ranking bureaucrats. Updated:Jun 10, 2025, 11:18 AM IST Young IAS Officer 1 / 7 IAS Amit Kataria, a young officer from Gurugram, is known as one of the richest civil servants in the country. Interestingly, he initially chose to draw only Rs 1 as his salary. Well-established business family 2 / 7 Amit Kataria, hailing from a well-established business family in Gurugram, Haryana, chose a path of public service over joining his family's expansive real estate enterprise, which operates across Delhi-NCR with an annual turnover in crores. Amit Kataria Salary 3 / 7 Driven by a strong desire to serve the nation, Kataria initially drew a symbolic salary of just Rs 1 as an IAS officer, highlighting that his decision to join the civil services was guided by purpose, not profit. Breach of protocol 4 / 7 As per Amit Kataria made headlines in 2015 for an alleged breach of protocol when he was seen wearing black sunglasses during a meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. At that time, he was serving as the District Collector of the Naxal-affected Bastar region in Chhattisgarh. IAS officer Amit Kataria Net Worth 5 / 7 IAS officer Amit Kataria is believed to have a net worth of approximately Rs 8.90 crore, making him one of the wealthiest civil servants in the country, as per in Electrical Engineering 6 / 7 Amit Kataria completed his schooling at Delhi Public School and went on to earn a in Electrical Engineering from the renowned IIT Delhi. All-India Rank 7 / 7 After graduating, Kataria started preparing for the UPSC Civil Services Examination and successfully cleared it in 2003 with an impressive All-India Rank (AIR) of 18. This achievement marked the beginning of his journey as an IAS officer, and he was allotted the Chhattisgarh cadre.
New Indian Express
an hour ago
- New Indian Express
Last rites of Maoist leader Sudhakar performed in Eluru, rich tributes paid
RAJAMAHENDRAVARAM: The last rites of top Maoist leader Gautam alias T Sudhakar, who was killed in an encounter in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district on June 5, were performed on Monday at his native village Satyavolu, 20 km from Eluru district. Acting on the appeal of his brother T Anandarao and sister-in-law, both State and Central authorities handed over Sudhakar's body to the family. Under the instructions given by the police, the relatives brought Sudhakar's body from Bhadrachalam hospital to the village late Sunday night. Several left party leaders and activists, including Communist Party of India (CPI) (Maoist) leader Akkiraju Haragopal (alias Ramakrishna)'s wife Padmakka alias Sireesha, paid their respects. A pall of gloom descended on the village following Sudhakar's death. Police made elaborate security arrangements in Satyavolu during the funeral. Sudhakar, a prominent Maoist figure, was a native of the village and had been active in left-wing extremism for several years before being killed in the recent gunfight.
