Pune: Police Arrest Notorious Criminals Behind Hardware and Grain Shop Thefts; Seized Goods Worth Rs 5 Lakh
Pune: Two criminals involved in a series of hardware and grain shop burglaries in the district have been arrested, following a thorough investigation by the local crime branch of the rural police. The arrested individuals have been identified as Banwari alias Raju Mohanlal Meena, a resident of Ramling Road in Shirur, and Akshay Prakash Dhende, 25, from Babhulsar Khurd, Karegaon, Shirur Taluka.
The arrests were made after CCTV footage captured the suspects committing one of the crimes. The police linked the footage to Banwari, a known history-sheeter with over 20 cases against him in Maharashtra and Rajasthan. Banwari and his accomplice, Dhende, have been implicated in five separate theft cases.
The police recovered goods valued at Rs 5.04 lakh from the duo, including a pick-up truck, hardware shop materials, compound mesh, and sacks of grain. Banwari confessed to robbing two hardware shops in Shirur and stealing a pick-up truck from Yawat, which they later used to transport stolen grain from another shop in Shirur.
Last month, the Shirur area saw a surge in hardware shop thefts, with two cases being registered at the Shirur police station. The local crime branch team began a parallel investigation, utilising CCTV footage and confidential informants to track down the suspects. The police placed Banwari and Dhende under surveillance and eventually apprehended them, leading to their confession and the recovery of the stolen goods.
This action was taken by the team of Local Crime Branch Police Inspector Avinash Shilimkar, Assistant Police Inspector Rahul Gavde, Police Constable Tushar Pandare, Jarnadhan Shelke, Sanju Jadhav, Sachin Ghadge, Ajit Bhujbal, Atul Dere, Raju Momin, Yogesh Nagargoje, Sagar Dhumal, Shirur Police Station Police Sub-Inspector Mujawar, Assistant Faujdar Deshmane, under the guidance of Superintendent of Police Pankaj Deshmukh, Additional Superintendent of Police Ramesh Chopde, and Sub Divisional Police Officer Prashant Dhole.
