Belagavi police achieved a major breakthrough when Harugeri police arrested seven members of an inter-state burglary gang and recovered valuables worth Rs 36.1 lakh in connection with a house-breaking case reported earlier this year.
The accused were identified as Ravi Shinde (32), Sunil Natha Pawar (27), Shankar alias Bihari Saiba Jadhav (25), Dileep Tukaram Shinde (25), Kishore Rajabahu More (27), Vinod Gangaram Shinde (23), and Mithun Chimmaji Jadhav (24), mostly residents of Jalna and Parbhani districts in Maharashtra.
The case was registered after a complaint by Abhishek Suresh Pandey of Vidyanagar, Harugeri, who reported that burglars broke into his house on February 6, 2026, stealing 280 grams of gold worth Rs 22 lakh and 1.5 kg of silver puja articles valued at Rs 1.3 lakh. Another resident, Saraswati Sanju Badiger, also reported theft of 25 grams of gold worth Rs 81,000 and Rs 7,000 in cash.
Acting under SP K Ramarajan’s instructions, a special investigation team, supervised by Additional SP BR Basaragi and Athani DySP Prashant Munnoli, conducted a detailed probe and technical analysis before arresting the gang in Maharashtra.
Recovered items included 267 grams of gold worth Rs 29 lakh, 1.08 kg of silver articles worth Rs 3 lakh, a Nissan car valued at Rs 3.5 lakh, six mobile phones, and Rs 9,830 cash, totaling Rs 36,11,830.
Police revealed that the gang is notorious for similar property crimes across Karnataka, including in Athani, Ugar, Rabakavi, Chikkamagaluru, Kalaburagi, Vijayapura, Kolar, Harapanahalli, Chitradurga, Ramanagara, Tumakuru, Bagalkot, Davanagere, and Gadag. During the arrest operation, the gang reportedly assaulted the police, highlighting their violent nature.
The operation was led by Harugeri CPI Ratankumar Jiragyal and PSI Malappa Pujari, with assistance from multiple local police stations and technical support from Belagavi district police. Investigations are ongoing to determine the gang’s involvement in additional burglaries across the state.
