Police arrested three members of a notorious theft gang from Baag Tanda in Dhar district during a late-night operation, officials said on Monday. The gang is believed to be involved in multiple high-value theft cases across the region.
Acting on specific intelligence inputs and technical surveillance, police tracked the suspects to remote hilly terrain located between Alirajpur and Dhar districts. Due to the difficult geography, the police team trekked several kilometres on foot around midnight to reach the hideout.
According to DCP (Zone-1) Krishan Lalchandani, the arrested accused have been identified as Akesh alias Akash, Sheru Vasude, and Pankesh Mandloi. During the operation, police recovered gold and silver jewellery worth approximately Rs68.50 lakh, including 450 grams of gold and 2.5 kilograms of silver.
A country-made pistol along with eight live cartridges was also seized from their possession. Police said Akesh, the prime accused, has a long criminal history, including cases of robbery, attempted murder, and an attack on a police team in 2022 aimed at snatching a service weapon.
Investigators revealed that the gang would conduct daytime reconnaissance to identify locked houses and later break in at night using tools such as cutters and screwdrivers.
Police termed the arrests a major breakthrough in curbing theft-related crimes in the city. Further investigation is underway to identify other gang members and link the accused to previous cases.
