Pune-Mumbai Expressway: Six Highway Police Personnel Booked After Tourists Allege Kidnapping, ₹5 Lakh Extortion; Smartwatch SOS Leads To Rescue
Pune-Mumbai Expressway: Six Highway Police Personnel Booked After Tourists Allege Kidnapping, ₹5 Lakh Extortion; Smartwatch SOS Leads To Rescue
Pune, July 8, 2026: Six personnel attached to the Highway Safety Patrol, including three police personnel and three Home Guards, have been booked after four tourists alleged they were kidnapped, threatened with being framed in a fake narcotics case, and extorted for ₹5 lakh on the Pune-Mumbai Expressway near Kamshet. The victims were rescued after one of them sent an emergency SOS through his smartwatch.
The incident occurred on Sunday in the Kamshet area of Maval taluka. A complaint was lodged at Kamshet Police Station by Bhushit Umesh Sharma (28), a resident of Viman Nagar, Pune. Based on his complaint, police have registered a case against six Highway Safety Patrol personnel. Their identities have not yet been disclosed.
According to the complaint, Bhushit’s friends Mohammad Kashan Azmi (28), his wife Faiza Jamil (27), and Syed Zubair Ahmed (31), all residents of Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, had come to Pune for a visit. The group was travelling to Mapro Garden in Lonavala in a car (MH-12/WZ-1692).
Police said that while travelling on the Pune-Mumbai Expressway near Kamshet, the group’s car was allegedly chased and intercepted by a police vehicle carrying six personnel. Three of them were dressed in white shirts with khaki trousers, while the remaining three were in khaki uniforms. Their jackets reportedly displayed the words “Highway Traffic Police.”
The complainants alleged that the personnel searched Mohammad Kashan Azmi and found a packet of cigarettes. They allegedly claimed it contained ganja and threatened to register a case under narcotics laws unless the group paid ₹5 lakh.
The tourists further alleged that they were held for nearly seven hours, prevented from contacting anyone, and taken to an ATM in Talegaon to withdraw money.
Unable to use his mobile phone, Mohammad Kashan Azmi discreetly activated an emergency alert using his smartwatch. As the group was in the Talegaon area, the SOS was received by the Pimpri-Chinchwad Police Control Room.
Following the alert, Police Commissioner Vinoy Kumar Choubey immediately ordered a rescue operation. Three Deputy Commissioners of Police joined the search teams to trace the victims’ location. According to police, the accused fled after realising the victims had alerted authorities, and the tourists were rescued safely.
Initially, investigators suspected that the crime had been committed by individuals impersonating police officers. However, based on the victims’ statements and CCTV footage, police concluded that the accused were personnel attached to the Highway Safety Patrol.
A case has been registered at Kamshet Police Station under Sections 127(2), 308(2), 352, 351(2), 351(3), and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS). Further investigation is underway.
