Pune: The Swargate Police have busted an inter-state gang of thieves, which was active in the Swargate ST Bus Stand and Swargate PMPML Bus Stop area. Three persons have been booked in the matter so far.
There was an increase in cases of mobile phone theft of passengers. The accused used to take advantage of crowds in the area. The Swargate Police detected operations of the gang while investigating mobile theft cases.
The police recovered 120 mobile phones, three laptops and devices worth Rs 13 lakh from the accused.
The accused have been identified as Imran Taj Shaikh (31), resident of Kondhwa, Osama Shafiq Shaikh (22), resident of Hadapsar, hailing from Ghansawangi, district Jalna, Abid Mukim Patel (23), resident of Mumbai, and Akhtar Ali Rabial Khan (34), a resident of Mumbai.
Three more accused have been found to be involved in the matter. Accused Imran Shaikh has already been booked in 10 cases registered at various police stations.
While investigating an offence registered at the Swargate Police Station, the police were patrolling the area to search for the accused based on inputs obtained through CCTV cameras and technical analysis of the area.
Police personnel Harshal Shinde, Feroze Shaikh and Sujay Pawar got a tip-off that a suspect was roaming in the Swargate Bus Stand area. Accordingly, the team set a trap and detained Imran Shaikh. When he was interrogated, he admitted to stealing 100 to 150 mobile phones. He said that he had sold the stolen phones to Osama Shaikh.
Police detained Osama Sheikh and interrogated him. He told the police that he would sell the stolen phones to agents Abid and Akhtar in Mumbai. The team went to Mumbai and detained agents Abid and Akhtar. As many as 120 mobile phones worth Rs 12 lakhs, three laptops and three other devices worth Rs 1 lakh have been seized from the accused. PSI Ashok Yewale is investigating further.
This action was taken under the guidance of Commissioner of Police (CP) Amitesh Kumar, Addl CP Pravinkumar Patil, DCP Smartana Patil and ACP Nandini Vagyani. A team comprising Sr PI Dilip Fulpagare, PI Geeta Bagwade, API Prashant Sande, PSI Ashok Yewale, police personnel Harshal Shinde, Feroze Shaikh, Sujay Pawar, Sandeep Ghule, Deepak Khendad, Anis Shaikh, Shiva Gaikwad, Ramesh Chavan and Pravin Godse took the action.
