The Pune police Tuesday arrested a 23-year-old man and detained a 17-year-old college student for allegedly trying to open fire at a sweets shop in the Sinhagad Road area demanding kaju katli for free.
Officials from the Sinhagad Road police station said the incident took place at a sweets shop located in the Manikbag area Monday afternoon.
The police said that the firearm the suspects used misfired despite multiple attempts as they threatened the shopkeeper, identified as Jodharam Chaudhari, 50.
According to the police, around 4 pm Monday, the two suspects entered Chaudhari’s sweets shop. They demanded 1 kg of kaju katli for free and threatened to shoot Chaudhari if it was not given. As Chaudhari refused to give them anything, one of the suspects took out a firearm and pulled the trigger at least three times but the weapon did not fire, the police said.
The duo then went out of the shop and came in again. The other suspect then threatened the shopkeeper again with a firearm and pulled the trigger but it misfired and the bullet fell to the ground. The two then fled from the shop after that, the police said.
Chaudhari later approached the police, who registered a First Information Report (FIR) under charges of attempt to murder and extortion among others. Police teams led by senior inspector Shailesh Sankhe and inspector Jayant Rajurkar launched a probe.
“Based on the footage from the security camera, the two suspects were identified. On Tuesday night, we arrested 23-year-old Suraj Mundhe and also detained his 17-year-old accomplice who studies at a local college,” said senior inspector Sankhe. Officials said they launched a probe to recover the two possible countrymade pistols used by the suspects.
Kaju katli, also called kaju barfi, is a traditional north Indian sweet made with cashew nuts, sugar and cardamom powder.
