Two youngsters with past criminal records joined a spiritual training camp (satsang) to remain on the right side of the law, but kept breaking it under the garb of reform and rehabilitation. Their Jekyll and Hyde side was exposed after the police arrested the duo on Thursday for house-breaking and thefts cases.
According to Prakash Gaikwad, deputy commissioner of police, Zone-5, the two, identified as Sagar Dattatray Bhalerao (21) and Swapnil Namdev Girme (24), both residents of Manjri in Hadapsar, and were attendees of a satsang in Devachi Alandi were involved in 20 cases of house-breaking, robbery, vehicle thefts, and planning to commit dacoity.
The police said that the parents of the accused had enrolled the duo to the satsang in Devachi Alandi, which is a place of pilgrimage and resting place (samadhi) of Sant Dnyaneshwar, with the intention that it will help them mend their ways. The two had been living at the spiritual training centre since the past two months and were attending sessions for a few hours in the morning and evening. However, during the other hours they used to leave the premises to shop for groceries.
While Hadapsar saw a rise in house-breaking and theft cases in January, the accused stay at the spiritual training centre helped them remain off the police radar. However, acting on a tip-off, sub-inspector Mangesh Bhange and havaldar Nitin Mundhe of Hadapsar police station nabbed the duo when they arrived at Mantri Market in Hadapsar to sell the stolen gold. The police seized the loot from their possession and, upon questioning, the two confessed to have stolen the jewellery from households in Hadapsar.
{{/usCountry}}While Hadapsar saw a rise in house-breaking and theft cases in January, the accused stay at the spiritual training centre helped them remain off the police radar. However, acting on a tip-off, sub-inspector Mangesh Bhange and havaldar Nitin Mundhe of Hadapsar police station nabbed the duo when they arrived at Mantri Market in Hadapsar to sell the stolen gold. The police seized the loot from their possession and, upon questioning, the two confessed to have stolen the jewellery from households in Hadapsar.
{{/usCountry}}The police recovered 131 grammes of gold, five motorbikes, ten mobile phones, two television sets, one camera and Rs 26,000. The recovered belongings are estimated to be worth Rs 11,00,000.
“Further recovery was made from the house of Bhalerao’s mother. She will also be made a party in the case and her involvement in the case will also be probed,” said DCP Gaikwad.
The two had previously been arrested in similar cases by the Hadapsar police. Girme is wanted in a 2018 case of preparation for dacoity registered at the Hadapsar police station. Of the twenty cases against them, 14 are from Hadapsar, two from Sahakarnagar, and one at Mundhwa, Chandannagar, Wanowrie, and Dighi police station each.