Overview
- The victim, 26-year-old Akshay Bapu Maske, died after being flown to hospital following a daylight attack in Balaji Nagar that police say involved shots fired from two-wheelers and a subsequent assault with a koyta or machete.
- Police confirmed the assault targeted Maske because he is the brother of Akash Mhaske, an accused in the September 1, 2024, killing of former corporator Vanraj Andekar.
- Authorities detained six people, including a minor, and a Pune court remanded the arrested suspects to police custody until May 27 as investigators carry out technical analysis and review CCTV footage.
- Investigators are probing whether the attack was ordered through organized channels after earlier reports that an accused in the Andekar case allegedly procured firearms from Madhya Pradesh for the 2024 murder.
- The killing deepens a two-year cycle of tit‑for‑tat strikes that have increasingly targeted relatives and associates, prompting extra police deployments and raising the risk of further reprisals in affected Pune neighbourhoods.