The Pune city police on Friday arrested gangster Shivam Udaykant Andekar, 29, the leader of the notorious Andekar gang, and his aide for allegedly extorting money from a fish vendor. The police are now on the lookout for his other accomplices.
Shivam was arrested after an FIR in the case was lodged at the Faraskhana police station on Friday following a complaint by a 38-year-old man who runs a fish stall in the Nana Peth market area.
According to a press release issued by Senior Police Inspector Prashant Bhasme of the Faraskhana police station on Saturday, since 2016, Shivam had allegedly been extorting Rs 50,000 per month from the complainant through his gang member Akash Pardeshi, 28, by threatening to kill him and shut his business. Pardeshi, who is from Lohiya Nagar, has also been arrested.
Till April 2025, the accused allegedly extorted about Rs 48 lakh from the complainant, in cash and through online transactions, the police said. But from May, due to financial constraints, the complainant refused to pay the extortion money.
According to the police, Shivam, a resident of Doke Talim area in Nana Peth, and his aides allegedly threatened to kill the complainant and ransacked his fish stall. The accused allegedly threw away material worth Rs 90,000 from the complainant’s fish stall, the police said.
The complainant said he requested Shivam to return his material and allow him to continue his business, but Shivam allegedly refused and insulted the complainant and his wife.
After receiving the complaint, the police lodged an extortion case against Shivam and his five aides. Further investigation is on, Bhasme said.
Story continues below this ad
Police sources said that Shivam’s father, Udaykant, was a former corporator who passed away in 2020. Shivam’s uncle, Suryakant alias Bandu Andekar, is known to be the key leader of the dreaded Andekar gang and was booked in multiple serious offences like murder and attempt to murder since 1995. Suryakant’s son and former corporator, Vanraj Andekar, was shot dead on September 1 last year near his residence in the Nana Peth area.
