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5 held for thefts during Ganesh festival, 22 cases detected
Vishrambaug police have arrested five suspected members of a gang allegedly involved in stealing gold ornaments, mangalsutras, purses and mobile phones during Ganesh festival
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PUNE: The Vishrambaug police have arrested five suspected members of a gang allegedly involved in stealing gold ornaments, mangalsutras, purses and mobile phones by taking advantage of crowds during the Ganesh festival and immersion procession.
The arrests, made from different locations on Sunday, led to the detection of 22 theft cases and recovery of valuables worth around ₹35 lakh, police said on Monday.
The accused have been identified as Santosh Kanhu Pawar of Ahilyanagar, Jalindar Shyerao Waghmare of Beed, Sushant Shivaji Gaikwad of Latur, Gaffar Maula Sheikh of Hyderabad and Sheikh Saibaj Sheikh Shafik of Malegaon in Nashik.
Krushikesh Rawale, deputy commissioner of police (zone I), said, “Two modules of a gang involved in such thefts had been caught. Planning and preventive measures were based on the learnings from last year. We identified vulnerable spots and kept a special watch on such gangs.”
Of the 22 cases detected, 15 involved gold ornament thefts, three mobile phone thefts and one purse theft registered with Vishrambaug police. Three gold theft cases were also detected by Faraskhana police, while one case was registered with Chandannagar police.
The arrested accused have been remanded in police custody until September 29, police said.
The investigation team conducted the operation continuously for 56 hours, from 7am on September 25 to 3pm on September 27.
