A 55-year-old builder and social media influencer, known online as ‘Pookie Don’, has been arrested on charges of possessing a cache of weapons at his house in Maharashtra’s Thane district. Several weapons, including some engraved “Made in USA” pistols and revolvers, 371 cartridges, 167 air gun pellets, a sword and a button knife, hidden behind a newly-installed fake shoe rack panel valued at Rs 10 lakh.
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The accused, Surendra Panduranga Patil, who has over three lakh followers on Instagram, was arrested on March 28 in Dombivli, barely a week after securing bail in another case. Acting on a tip-off, Crime Branch officials searched his residence and recovered a hidden cache of weapons tucked behind a fake panel that raised suspicion due to its mismatch with the home’s interiors.
Police recovered five country-made pistols and revolvers – some marked “Made in USA” – along with two air guns, 371 cartridges, 167 air gun pellets, a sword, a button knife, another sharp-edged weapon and two steel rods. The total value of the seized weapons is estimated at around Rs 10 lakh.
Officials said the volume of ammunition indicated the stockpile was functional.
“Acting on a tip-off, our team searched Patil’s bungalow in the Dawdi area of Dombivli late on Saturday night. We recovered a cache of weapons hidden behind a fake panel of a newly installed shoe rack that did not match the house’s interior,” an official from the Crime Branch said.
While Patil, also a history-sheeter, claimed the weapons were props for his gangster-style social media videos, investigators are probing whether he was assembling a “mini-army” or supplying arms to local criminals.
A case was registered against Patil under the Arms Act and the Maharashtra Police Act.
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(with inputs from PTI)
Published By:
Prateek Chakraborty
Published On:
Apr 1, 2026 19:08 IST
