Subhash Shamrao Bhosale (19) from Yerawada, who was apprehended by the villagers at the nearby Wadgaon Maval railway station, was later handed over to the Pune rural police. He was produced before a judicial magistrate and remanded to police custody for seven days.

The arrest is being viewed as a major breakthrough in solving the spate of dacoities in the city and rural outskirts. He is being interrogated to trace his accomplices and their suspected involvement in other dacoits.

The four dacoits had targeted the residences of Pandit Ganapat Chopade, Nathu Genu Satkar and Dhananjay Nilu Satkar shortly after midnight. They forced entry inside the houses after breaking the doors and robbed the owners. They attacked Dhananjay Satkar's father Nilu with sticks when he tried toprotest.

They dacoits fled when villagers rushed to the spot responding to the cries for help by the victims. The villagers decided to comb the entire area to search the dacoits.

About two dozen villagers combed the village. Three separate teams, each having about 20 members, were dispatched to comb the surrounding vicinities. The villagers were soon joined by some policemen who went to the spot from the Wadgaon Maval police station.

After two hour long search, a team of 20 villagers and two policemen reached the Wadgaon Maval police station and spotted Bhosale waiting for a Pune-bound train along with an accomplice.

The duo ran away on noticing the search party approaching them. The villagers apprehended Bhosale after a brief chase. However, his accomplice succeeded in making good his escape while taking advantage of the darkness and the chaos that ensued, police said.