Footage From 500 CCTV Cams Were Analysed By Police Team
How the case was cracked
Nagpur: Eight days after the midnight gunfire at the residence of first-time Congress corporator Subham Motghare at Shravan Nagar in Bhandewadi, the police cracked the case with the arrest of seven accused, including the shooter and biker. However, the mastermind Vishal Gupta alias Phalli, a Wathoda-based narco dealer, remains on the run.After two masked men on a bike fired at Motghare’s first-floor gallery on August 26, footage showed two persons fleeing towards Swaminarayan Mandir on Khandwani Town Road.Talking to reporters on Friday, police commissioner Vishwas Nangre Patil said seven teams were formed with specific tasks. “We tracked monetary transactions of Rs 50,000. There could be an angle of contract crime and all possibilities, including political rivalry are being explored,” said the CP.Investigators say the attack was a calculated conspiracy. On August 1, the crime branch arrested Mohammad Niaz Samsul Ansari and Mohammad Aslam Samsul Ansari with 151gm MD worth ₹30 lakh. The duo named Phalli as their supplier, making him a co-accused.Phalli, already named in a December 2025 drug case and a 2023 rape-and-assault case, believed Motghare had tipped off police and decided to take revenge. Phalli roped in Ankush Tomaskar, 30, of Samata Nagar, who fired the shot. He was arrested by the crime branch from Rajnandgaon in Chhattisgarh, said police.Rushab alias Chote Nagdeve, 24, also with several cases against him, rode the motorcycle. Tomaskar, who received the gun from Phalli, wanted Rushab to drive while he opened fire from the pillion’s seat.Others arrested in the case include Amit Thakre, 22, Romit alias Pullya Vahane, 25, Rishabh Paithal, 30, Ketan Mate, 24; and Kartik Tomaskar, 24. The crime branch cracked the case after nabbing Mate, an aide of Nagdeve and Karthik. Following their interrogation, it had come to fore that Nagdeve and Romit were holed up at a hotel in Surat. Eight cell phones worth ₹80,000 were seized.Sources also said Tomaskar was sentenced in a 2016 murder case. He obtained bail in 2020, but the high court rejected his appeal in March 2026, yet he remained active. Another gambling kingpin with 40 cases is also under scanner for his role in allowing goons to feast at his home.Footage from over 500 CCTV cameras were analysed along with surveillance of 25,000 call records, tower dumps and banking trails. The footage led to a local feast where the accused had gathered near Kapil Nagar. Contacting a local goon, the cops gathered the name of Nagdeve but he was underground with his cell phone switched off since August 24. Cops then managed to nab Mate who had exposed the conspiracy and its perpetrators.Special teams continue the hunt for Phalli. Officers say organised planning, use of a firearm, identifiable payments and targeting of a sitting corporator point to a structured syndicate. Further arrests are expected.
