Three more wanted in Vastral violence case arrested after over 4 months

Indian Express

29-07-2025

The Detection of Crime Branch (DCB) of the Ahmedabad city police on Tuesday said it has arrested three persons involved in a street violence in Vastral reported in March, over four months after the incident.
Notably, this case had acted as a trigger for the state government and had led DGP Vikas Sahay on March 15 to order officials to prepare lists of 'anti-social elements' across the state within 100 hours. A whole-of-government approach was adopted as alleged 'illegal' structures were demolished and illicit electricity connections were snapped.
These three accused, identified as Pankaj alias Sarkar Raju Bhavsar (22), Ashwin alias Khatu Shailesh Nadiya (19), and Ashutosh alias Asu Chandrashekhar Pillai (24), were held based on an FIR at Ramol police station and booked under sections 109(1), 118(1), 126(2), 189(2), 189(4), 190, 191(2), 191(3), 296(B), 324(6), 351(3) of the BNS, and section 135(1) of the Gujarat Police Act.
A statement by the Crime Branch on Tuesday said that Pankaj's maternal cousin Sonu alias Teka had come to Ahmedabad from Rajasthan to start a business and had set up a pakodi stall near Vastral. Sangram Sikarwar, a vendor, had allegedly refused to let him set up the stall, leading to a heated exchange on March 12. As per the statement, Sangram allegedly threatened Pankaj over the phone, warning him that if he didn't come to meet him the next morning, he would go to his house and assault him.
The statement further said, 'On March 13, Pankaj and his associates gathered in an open ground near Kamdar Maidan. Those present included Aladeep Moriya, Rohit alias Durlabh, Ashutosh alias Asu, Ashwin alias Khatu, Govind alias Dadda, Ravi Gadariya, Rajiv Tomar alias BRS Tomar (who had a revolver), Pradeep, Alkesh Yadav, Rajveer Bihola, Sonu Thakor, Prashant alias Vicky Chauhan, Suraj Ramdhari Gupta, Dipu Sindhi, Sahil Chauhan, Sahil Parihar, Vikas Parihar, Ayush Rajput, Ashish Makwana, Mayur, Ankit, Naresh Parmar, Raj alias Bhuro, Nigam, Keyur Rabari, Shyam Kamle, Nikhil Chauhan, Rakesh Pandit, Vimal Sharma, Govind Yadav, Mahesh Yadav, Pradeep's brother Gujjar, Bhavesh Parmar, Ashu Kathariya.'
Later that evening, armed with swords, knives, sticks, and other weapons, the group went to Vastral RTO Road. When they could not find Sangram there, they allegedly forced people to shut their shops, blocked the road, vandalised properties. Rajiv alias BRS Tomar also fired shots from his revolver. As a crowd started to gather, all of them fled to different directions, the DCB statement also said.
Pankaj allegedly spent that night near Vatva Canal at his friend Himanshu Tomar's house. Using Ashwin's Instagram ID, he coordinated with others and they fled via Vadodara, Bhilwara, Sultanpur (UP), Kanpur, Bhind (MP), Goregaon, Delhi, Mithapur, Varanasi, and finally rented a house at Jhansi (UP). They used Instagram calls/messages to stay in touch and financed expenditures by selling a scooter, said police.
The three key accused, who had been absconding for the past three months, were arrested from Chandkheda, Motera Road in Ahmedabad, and handed over to Ramol Police Station for further legal action.
Criminal history of accused
Pankaj has been involved in at least 11 cases, including rioting, assault, and Arms Act offences, filed at Ramol, Amraiwadi, and Isanpur police stations. He was detained under the PASA and has served jail terms in Rajkot and Bhuj.
Ashutosh has been involved in multiple cases since 2018, including rioting, assault, and Arms Act offences, and was detained under PASA thrice. He has served jail terms in Surat and Vadodara.
Ashwin has been previously involved in multiple rioting and assault cases. He was also wanted in a 2024 case filed at Isanpur police station for serious offences under the BNS.