The Thane Crime Branch has arrested five members of an inter-district gang and recovered 28 stolen vehicles valued at Rs17.9 lakh, officials said. The joint operation by Crime Branch Unit-2 Bhiwandi and Unit-3 Kalyan helped solve 26 cases registered across Thane, Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, and Thane rural areas.
The arrested accused are:
Atul Suresh Khandale (24) – Hadapsar, Pune
Shekhar Govardhan Pawar (30) – Jalgaon district
Akash Machhindra Nasargandh (23) – Kalyan West
Ghazi Lakir Hussain (19) – Ambivali, Kalyan taluka
Mushtaq Istiyaq Ansari (31) – Bhiwandi
Acting on intelligence inputs and technical analysis, the Crime Branch launched a parallel investigation into vehicle thefts across multiple police stations under the Thane Police Commissionerate. Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Amar Singh Jadhav said the breakthrough came after extensive surveillance and close coordination between the two units.
The gang’s operations spanned multiple jurisdictions, with cases registered at police stations including Bhiwandi City, Narpoli, Dharavi, Kandivali West, Mahim, Navghar, Kolsewadi, Vishnunagar, Manpada, Mumbra, Khandeswar, Ambarnath, Taloja, Bazarpeth, Madhyavarti, and Wasind. Authorities emphasized the importance of intelligence-driven policing in cracking such multi-jurisdictional crimes.
