Four members of the notorious Shikalkar gang, responsible for multiple house break-ins across Thane, Pune, Navi Mumbai, Kalyan, and Bhiwandi, were arrested by the Thane Police Crime Branch. The arrests helped solve 40 burglary cases spanning Thane and Navi Mumbai Police Commissionerate areas.
Police recovered expensive vehicles and jewellery worth Rs 39.53 lakh from the accused, though the total value of stolen goods remains undisclosed.
The arrested gang members were identified as Vijaysingh Andhasingh Junni alias Shikalkar (24), Sonusingh Jitendrasingh Junni (27), Sunny Kartasingh Sardar (27), and Atul Khandale (24). Vijaysingh, Sonusingh, and Atul are residents of Hadapsar, Pune, while Sunny hails from Ambivali, Kalyan.
The MMR region had seen a spate of burglaries where locked houses were targeted, with jewellery and cash stolen. The Kalyan unit of the Thane Crime Investigation Department began a detailed probe into one such case, which led to the gang’s capture. Technical analysis and interrogation confirmed the four members’ involvement, and all confessed to their crimes.
Through their arrests, police solved 40 cases, including incidents reported at Dombivli, Vishnunagar, Narpoli, Mumbra, Kalwa, Manpada, Kolsewadi, Central, Shivajinagar, Badlapur, Mahatma Phule, and Vitthalwadi police stations under Thane Commissionerate, as well as Khandeshwar police station in Navi Mumbai.
Vijaysingh, Sonusingh, and Atul have 28 previous cases registered in Pune, with Vijaysingh alone facing 20 cases, making him the most wanted among the group. The Shikalkar gang is believed to have operated not only across Maharashtra but also in other states, using Pune as their base.
