In Brief — Pune

Main accused in Bakliwal killing arrestedAhmednagar: The Ahmednagar police on Wednesday claimed a major breakthrough in the killing of ci...

Main accused in Bakliwal killing arrested
Ahmednagar: The Ahmednagar police on Wednesday claimed a major breakthrough in the killing of city-based jeweler Santosh Bakliwal with arrests of 22-year-old shooter Amit Singh Bhikam Singh and his aide Intakhab Alam Abdul Salam Sain.

Both were remanded to police custody by a local court later in the day, Tophkhana police said.

Amit Singh was nabbed by a team of Ahmednagar police in Gwalior and brought in late last night, it was stated. Singh hails from Jhansi while Saini is from Ahmednagar’s Mukundnagar locality, police said.

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The investigators trailed Singh after linking bits of information received earlier. After shooting Bakliwal on May 1 evening, Singh had travelled to various places, the preliminary investigations reveal, police said.

Earlier, a jeweler Balkrishna Chintamani, 42, and an artisan Vitthal Morgu, 35, who were arrested on Tuesday were today remanded in police custody till May 21.

Chintamani is suspected to have stolen an M-80 moped which later was used by the Bakliwal killers while Morgu allegedly acted as the assaulters’ informer. Chintamani, police sources said, accompanied Balkiwal’s relatives when he was admitted to the civic hospital after the assault and also had attended his funeral next day.

Five persons were arrested in the killing that had sent shock waves through this historic city, yet the investigators were unable to gain any substantial clue from the suspects. They were released later.

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Rs 50 lakh aid for Pratapsinh zoo
Sangli: Acting Municipal Commissioner Dr Nitin Kareer has granted a Rs 50 lakh aid for upliftment of Sangli’s infamous Pratapsinh zoo. This is the first time in the recent past that the zoo has been getting substantial fiscal support from the civic body.

The zoo, known for its inbred varieties of Asiatic lions and a few dozen other animals kept under dismal conditions, had drawn serious criticism from the Zoo Authority of India in the past.