In a brazen kidnapping incident in Baramati, Pune, a scrap dealer named Kutubuddin Subhedar Shah was abducted and robbed by a gang impersonating police officers on September 23. The assailants, led by Santosh Laxman Bhandalkar, threatened Shah with a firearm, demanding a ransom of ₹15 lakh while robbing him of ₹8,000 and his cellphone. Following Shah's complaint, the Baramati police, under Superintendent Pankaj Deshmukh, utilized CCTV footage to identify the suspects and apprehended Bhandalkar and two accomplices, Suresh Ashok Rakhpasare and Shekhar Subhash Shinde, recovering ₹2.51 lakh worth of valuables and two country-made pistols. Three additional suspects remain at large, with authorities suspecting they were planning further robberies. The police operation has been hailed for restoring a sense of security in the community.