Panvel: In a major month-long operation carried out in July, Panvel City Police cracked 38 serious criminal cases and arrested 57 accused, recovering stolen property worth over Rs 74 lakh.
The cases ranged across multiple categories: theft, robbery, housebreaking, fraud, witchcraft, narcotics, and cybercrime.
One of the major arrests involved Tausif Mujawar, who duped a family in Panvel of Rs 39.70 lakh in cash and jewellery by falsely claiming he could retrieve hidden treasure from their farmland. He was traced and arrested in Hupari, Kolhapur district, and police recovered the entire amount.
Another high-profile arrest was of Ashok Jyotish Gharai (34), who stole iPhones worth Rs 7.25 lakh and fled to his native village in Odisha. Despite severe floods in the area, Panvel police tracked him down and traveled 8 km by boat with the help of the Fire Brigade to arrest him. Five stolen iPhones were recovered.
Senior Police Inspector Nitin Thakeray highlighted more breakthroughs:
A gang looting passengers near Panvel Bus Depot under the guise of offering lifts was arrested, with Rs 2.27 lakh in stolen property recovered.
A bag-snatching gang of five operating near Panvel Railway Station was nabbed, and Rs 11.67 lakh worth of goods recovered.
A mobile phone shop break-in gang was caught; 45 mobile phones worth Rs 4.95 lakh were seized. Four related cases were also solved.
Additional successes included:
3 arrests for vehicle theft, solving 8 cases
10 robbery suspects arrested, solving 6 cases
7 arrested for housebreaking, cracking 8 cases
17 involved in thefts, solving 7 cases
3 arrested for fraud, solving 5 cases
9 cybercrime accused, solving 2 cases
Arrests under narcotics laws (details pending)
The crackdown was conducted under the guidance of Navi Mumbai Police Commissioner Milind Bharambe, Joint CP Sanjay Yenpure, and DCP Prashant Mohite, with leadership from ACP Bhausaheb Dhole, Senior PI Nitin Thakeray, and PI (Crime) Shakir Patel.
