City police on Tuesday afternoon arrested three young men and detained a minor in connection with a series of cellphone thefts across the city, recovering 25 stolen phones and a motorcycle. The total value of the recovered items is estimated at Rs10 lakh.
The operation followed an investigation launched on Saturday after a theft was reported to Gangapur police. The complainant, walking from Siddharthnagar to Anandnagar, was approached by two bike-borne men who snatched his cellphone worth Rs50,000.
During the probe, Crime Branch Unit 1 received a tip-off that the stolen phone was in possession of three suspects planning to sell it in Anandwali. A trap was laid, leading to the arrest of the suspects and recovery of six stolen phones along with the motorcycle.
The arrested men have been identified as:
Vicky Kale (22)
Rutik Hirey (24)
Shubham Ingle (21)
During interrogation, the trio admitted to committing multiple cellphone thefts over the past two months in areas including Ambad MIDC, Satpur MIDC, Kamgar Nagar, College Road, and Gangapur Road, targeting pedestrians using their phones.
Police also recovered 19 more phones from a minor in Satpur, who the trio used to resell the stolen devices. Senior PI Madhukar Kad confirmed that further investigation is ongoing to track any additional stolen items and possible accomplices.
