Categories: Legally Speaking

LOC issued against Pune gangster Nilesh Ghaywal

A Look Out Circular has been issued against Pune gangster Nilesh Ghaywal, suspected of fleeing the country despite fresh criminal charges and a court order to surrender his passport.

Published by CORRESPONDENT

PUNE: A Look Out Circular (LOC) has been issued against notorious Pune gangster Nilesh Ghaywal, who is suspected to have left the country despite facing fresh criminal charges.

The action comes after a recent road rage case in which 5-6 of Ghaywal's associates allegedly opened fire on a 30-year-old man and assaulted a teenager in Pune's Kothrud area.

According to a senior police official, investigators are now examining how Ghaywal managed to retain or obtain a passport in defiance of a court order directing him to surrender it. Authorities are also probing how he was able to secure a visa and leave India.

"We have credible inputs that the gangster recently left the country. After verification, we issued a Look Out Circular. We are also probing how he managed to retain or obtain a passport despite a court order to surrender it and how he secured a visa," the official said.

In his late 40s, Ghaywal has more than a dozen serious offences against him, including cases of murder, attempted murder, and extortion. He has previously been booked under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) and detained under the Maharashtra Prevention of Dangerous Activities Act (MPDA), police records show.

Once a close aide of gangster Gaja Marne in the early 2000s, Ghaywal eventually split from him, sparking a series of violent gang rivalries in Pune. His notoriety has since grown, with police linking his name to multiple high-profile cases of organized crime in the city.

A Look Out Circular is a mechanism used to alert immigration authorities when a person facing criminal charges tries to leave or enter India. It is routed through the state CID to the Bureau of Immigration and often serves as a precursor to stronger international alerts, such as a

Red Corner Notice.

With the LOC now in place, immigration authorities worldwide have been put on alert, while Pune police continue their probe into how Ghaywal managed to leave India despite multiple restrictions.

Amreen Ahmad
Published by CORRESPONDENT