Cops nab burglar, solve eight house-breakings in Koparkhairane

The arrested accused have been identified as Ankush Uttam Dhage, 36, while his associate is identified as Bablu Bengali, who is still absconding.

Navi Mumbai: A 36-year-old man was arrested for allegedly carrying out several house-breaking cases in Koparkhairane. The accused worked with another associate and would do a three-level recce before finalising the house, as per the police. So far, the duo have burgled eight homes in the area.

Koparkhairane police created a team to track the house-breaking cases. The burglaries happened at Bonkode, Ghansoli village and Khairane village. Around 80 to 90 CCTV footage were checked, following which the police could figure out the registration number of the two-wheeler used by the accused, who was traced to the Masjid Bunder area. (Image for representation)

The arrested accused have been identified as Ankush Uttam Dhage, 36, while his associate is identified as Bablu Bengali, who is still absconding.

“In the last few months, we noticed a rise in housebreak-in cases in Koparkhairane,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone I), Vivek Pansare, said. “With the arrest of Dhage, we have solved eight burglary cases, of which, one was reported this year and seven others in 2022. We have recovered 174.380 grams of gold ornaments worth ₹9.47 lakh from the accused.”

Koparkhairane police created a team to track the house-breaking cases. The burglaries happened at Bonkode, Ghansoli village and Khairane village. Around 80 to 90 CCTV footage were checked, following which the police could figure out the registration number of the two-wheeler used by the accused, who was traced to the Masjid Bunder area.

While Dhage is a resident of Dombivali, his accomplice is from Masjid Bunder. The modus operandi involved first doing a recce of a target house at around 7 pm, then at 9 pm and then finally at 11 pm. After finding the house, which had lights off all three would be targeted in the early hours. While Bengali would wait outside the house to keep a watch, Dhage would lay his hands on whatever he managed to find at the home. The duo would then sell off the gold ornaments.