In a significant breakthrough, police arrested three members of an inter-state burglary gang involved in breaking into vacant houses in residential colonies. The arrests were made near Indore Bypass on Tuesday, after the gang was found using a rented luxury vehicle to conduct their criminal activities.
The gang would identify unoccupied homes and use modern tools to break in and steal valuable items. Their method of operation came to light after a complaint was filed on April 3 by Shivanshu Verma, a resident of Mahalaxmi Nagar, who had been away on a trip with his family since March 27. On April 2, a neighbour alerted him about suspicious activity at his home. Upon his return, Verma discovered that gold and silver jewellery, along with cash, had been stolen.
Lasudia police initiated an investigation and gathered CCTV footage, which showed four individuals in a white car scouting the area. The vehicle’s movements and number plate suggested they were from Bhopal. Using technical surveillance and CCTV analysis, the suspects were identified as Ankit Guzre (25), alias Ankit Dancer, from Bagh Mugaliya, Bhopal; Balram Prajapati (22), from Badoniya Talab; and Ravi Khart (22), from Danish Nagar, Bhopal.
Ankit Guzre had a long criminal history, with 30 prior cases of theft, burglary, and robbery. He was known for committing similar crimes in both Indore and Bhopal. Balram and Ravi also had criminal records, with 13 and 2 cases, respectively.
The trio was apprehended near Silver Park Colony on Indore Bypass while they were returning to Indore to commit another burglary. Upon their arrest, police recovered a white hatchback vehicle used in the crime, along with gold jewellery worth Rs1.5 lakh, and two iPhones bought using the stolen money. The total recovery from the arrest amounted to Rs3 lakh.
During interrogation, the accused revealed that their accomplice, Vijay Dindoriya, was in possession of the remaining stolen property. The police are continuing their investigation to recover the rest of the stolen goods.
