Tourist guide linked to criminals, caught during robbery

Lokmat News Network

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar

A shocking revelation has emerged from the city’s tourism hub, where a local guide has close ties with criminals and drug peddlers. Along with a criminal out on bail, he tried to rob a young man at knifepoint near Mill Corner–Jubilee Park around midnight on Saturday.

The accused, Arbaaz Khan (24, Kohinoor Colony, Mugalpura) and Mohammad Awaiz Rauf (30, Padegaon), were caught red-handed by locals after they threatened 22-year-old Chetan Folane (Begumpura) and tried to force him into an autorickshaw. The robbers were handed over to police, and a case was registered at Begumpura police station. PSI Pramod Kolekar confirmed their arrest. Arbaaz is out on bail in a murder case and a 2023 NDPS drug peddling case, while Awaiz works as a guide at Pan Chakki. Authorities have raised concerns over tourist guides and autorickshaw drivers increasingly being linked to criminal activities.

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Bank officer robbed in broad daylight

In another incident, bank officer Abhijit Hivrale (resident of Jatwada area) was robbed in broad daylight by an autorickshaw driver and two others. On September 7, after appearing for an examination at the ION Centre, he was waiting near Dhoot Hospital around 3.30 pm. Suddenly, three men attacked him and tried to snatch his mobile phone. As police personnel appeared in the vicinity, the accused tried to flee, but locals caught them. The arrested have been identified as autorickshaw driver Vineet Ghodke (29), Saurabh Ghodke (24, both residents of Cantonment), and Pradeep Salve (39, resident of Bhimnagar), assistant inspector Kailas Lahane confirmed.

(WITH PHOTO of Arbaaz and Awaiz)