Pune: Police Marshals Attacked by Sandalwood Thieves; Doctors Face Charges for Treating Accused Without Reporting

Pune:

In a bold act of defiance, a group of sandalwood thieves who were caught stealing within the Law College Road area recently assaulted on-duty police marshals. During the confrontation, police officers fired rounds in self-defence, injuring two of the thieves. The situation has since escalated as senior police officials announced that doctors who treated the injured suspects without reporting the incident may face legal action.

The incident unfolded in the early hours of October 22, around 2:30 a.m., when police constable Mahesh Tambe and Ganesh Satav from Deccan Police Station were patrolling Law College Road. At that time, they spotted a group of sandalwood thieves standing near Janaki Villa Bungalow on Abhinav College Path. As soon as they realised they were being observed, the thieves violently attacked the police. Constable Tambe responded by firing his pistol at the thieves’ legs to protect himself and his colleague.

Two suspects, Shahrukh Kadirkhan Pathan and Farukhkhan Kadirkhan Pathan, both from Janjal, Taluka Sillod, District Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, were injured during the firing. Following the incident, another accomplice, identified as Asif Harunkhan Golwal (age 24, from Janjal, near Zilla Parishad School, Taluka Sillod, District Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar), was promptly arrested. Meanwhile, a search is underway for his absconding accomplices, Nadeem Khan Latif Khan, Feroz Khan Sharif Khan, and Najim Khan Sadukhan, who remain at large.

In a twist that has intensified the case, the injured accused managed to travel to Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar on a two-wheeler, where they sought treatment for their injuries. However, the doctors who treated them reportedly failed to notify authorities about the gunshot wounds, a procedure required under the Medico Legal Case (MLC) protocol. Instead, the doctors allegedly acted in a manner that seemed to assist the suspects.

Senior police officials informed that a case will be filed against the doctors in this matter. Police are further searching for the absconding accused in this case.