Man who shot at builder’s home dares cops to nab him, offers ₹1L reward

THANE: A day after two unidentified men fired two rounds at the residence-cum-office of Vishwanath Panvelkar, a prominent builder in Ambarnath, prime suspect Jitendra Pawar on Monday challenged the police to arrest him.

In a post on Facebook that has been circulating widely, Pawar shared news reports about the attack and offered “a reward of ₹1 lakh” to whoever managed to nab him.

In another post on the social media platform, he referred to himself by his alias, ‘Tiger bhai’, saying, “Ambernath shaharat ekach bhiti — Tiger bhai che numberkari kiti (A wave of fear in Ambernath city — How many hit jobs has Tiger bhai done)?”

Police confirmed that the messages were posted from Pawar’s Facebook account and said four dedicated teams were working round the clock to trace him.

“Pawar was an accused in some recent cases of assault but was not arrested in any of them,” said an officer who is privy to the investigation. “We are examining if he had any old cases or criminal history.”

CCTV footage of the attack on Panvelkar’s residence-cum-office Sitai Sadan, a five-storeyed building near Hutatma Chowk, showed two helmetless bike-borne assailants reaching the spot at 2:03pm on Monday. The duo halted in front of the building and fired two bullets at the office gate before speeding away.

Panvelkar and his family were not at home at time, though a few staff members were present in the office. No one was injured in the attack.

Police have detained a 21-year-old suspect who was allegedly riding the two-wheeler and seized the black Pulsar bike used in the incident, said deputy commissioner of police Sachin Gore.

“The vehicle was traced to Ganesh Nagar, where it had been left outside a shop. It was found to be registered in the name of a friend of Jitendra Pawar, who fired the bullets,” Gore told Hindustan Times. The bike had been borrowed on the day of the incident, the officer added.

Meanwhile, Panvelkar alleged that he had been facing continuous harassment from Badlapur MLA Kisan Kathore and the latter was behind the attack on him on Monday.

“The Badlapur MLA has been harassing me for a long time. He has tried to file false complaints against me repeatedly, but they were all dismissed due to lack of evidence,” he told HT.

The builder also claimed to have a voice recording wherein Kathore had clearly said that he would not stop troubling Panvelkar.

“I don’t know Jitendra Pawar, but the MLA has a history of using others to act against me,” said Panvelkar.

Kathore, however, refused to comment on the allegations, saying, “I don’t have time for all this.”

Ambernath has witnessed several instances of high-profile violence in recent months, over conflicts relating to land deals and redevelopment projects. Monday’s incident has reignited concerns about law and order, especially among those working in the construction sector.