Gang of six, including woman, in custody for night robberies in Pune

A gang of robbers who strike at night was busted by the Pune police crime branch by arresting five men and one woman who were remanded to police custody

PUNE: A gang of robbers who strike at night was busted by the Pune police crime branch by arresting five men and one woman who were remanded to police custody on Thursday.

A gang of robbers who strike at night was busted by the Pune police crime branch by arresting five men and one woman who were remanded to police custody. (AFP (FOR REPRESENTATIONAL PURPOSE))

The six were identified as Arun Shivaji Gaikwad (38), Mohan Ganesh Jadhav (30), Shivraj Arjun Vadekar (22), Prashant Mithu Thorbole (22), Bhimbai Ramesh Bantraji (45), and their woman accomplice Sheetal Srinivas Wadekar (29), according to the police. The arrest was made by a team led by sub-inspector Sanjay Gaikwad of Unit 1 of Pune police crime branch.

They were arrested on Wednesday and produced in court on Thursday and remanded to police custody till October 4.

“The accused roamed around in the city to find secluded spots where they robbed pedestrians during night by threatening them with deadly weapons. They also use of crowd in buses to cut women’s purses, jewellery like bangles,” read a statement by Unit 1 senior police inspector Shailesh Sankhe.

Among the accused, Sheetal has a history of 11 cases in various police stations, including Mundhwa, Bundgarden, Deccan, Swargate, Bibwewadi and Warje Malwadi.

The gang is found to be involved in at least 10 cases, including three at Vishrambaug, two each at Dattawadi and Deccan police stations, and one each at Shivajinagar, Bharati Vidyapeeth and Kothrud police stations.