The Pune Police have successfully apprehended two individuals involved in a series of motorcycle thefts across multiple areas in Pune. The arrests were made by the Faraskhana Police in collaboration with the Robbery and Vehicle Theft Prevention Squad of the Crime Branch. A total of 14 stolen motorcycles and a bicycle were seized from the suspects.
The first arrest was of Akash Heru Kunchan (26), a resident of Bata Galli, Budhwar Peth, who was caught stealing motorcycles in the city center. Investigations revealed that Kunchan had stolen bikes not just in the Faraskhana Police jurisdiction, but also in rural areas. The police, who had been vigilant with increased patrols, received a tip-off about Kunchan’s whereabouts in Dhamdhere Galli, Budhwar Peth. Officers Vaibhav Swami, Pravin Pasalkar, and Mahesh Rathod led a team to trap and arrest him.
During questioning, Kunchan admitted to a series of motorcycle thefts, and the police recovered four stolen motorcycles along with a bicycle. The operation was carried out under the guidance of Deputy Commissioner of Police Sandeep Singh Gill and Senior Police Inspector Prashant Bhasme, with the assistance of Crime Branch Inspector Ajit Jadhav and other officers.
In a separate operation, the Robbery and Vehicle Theft Prevention Squad arrested two more suspects, Riyaz aka Dada Shardul Sheikh (21) from Amrai, Kokate Chali, Pashan, and Anil Lingayya Bhandari (34) from Sutarwadi, Pashan. The duo was found to be involved in stealing motorcycles from various parts of the city. Police recovered ten stolen bikes worth around 5.6 lakh rupees from them. Their thefts spanned areas including Mundhwa, Hadapsar, Baner, Kothrud, Pimpri-Chinchwad’s Sangvi, Shirgaon Parandwadi, and Rajgad in the rural Pune jurisdiction.
This operation was led by Senior Police Inspector Nandkumar Bidwai, with key assistance from Assistant Inspectors Praveen Kalukhe, Amit Gadre, Balu Gaikwad, Ajit Shinde, Manisha Pukale, Pradeep Rathod, and Ganesh Dhage.