Navi Mumbai: The Navi Mumbai Police have arrested 15 people and solved 32 cases, including vehicle thefts and house break-ins, in a week-long drive against property-related offences.
A total of 30 bikes, 28 tola gold and 40 gram silver has been recovered from the accused.
“Of the total cases, 26 are of motor vehicle theft while six are house break-ins and other thefts. Eleven people have been arrested in motor vehicle theft cases, and four in the rest. The investigations were carried out by the APMC, Koparkhairane, Vashi, CBD Belapur and Rabale MIDC police stations in Zone I,” Joint Commissioner Prashant Burde said.
Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone I) Sudhakar Pathare, who initiated the drive, said the police will continue to carry out similar drives.
Of the 15 accused, the APMC police have arrested three: Anil Roode (22) from Yavatmal, and Shankar Bheemrao Pisal (23) and Jay Koli (24) from Ulwe. They worked as autorickshaw drivers. The police have recovered 12 bikes from Mr. Roode and Mr. Koli, and one from Mr. Pisal. Four more people are wanted. “We have solved 11 cases of vehicle theft with the arrest of these three accused,” Senior Police Inspector Rajendra Galande said. The accused are in police custody till July 6.
Three others were arrested by the CBD Belapur police. While one is a minor, a Class VI drop-out from a renowned convent school in Vashi, the other two are Mosin Shahnawaz Shaikh (27) from Palghar and Shyamrao Vaaman Itkar (19) from Nerul. Nine bikes have been recovered from the minor and Mr. Shaikh. Mr. Itkar has been arrested for one vehicle theft, one house break-in and two theft cases, and police have seized five gram gold, 40 gram silver and a bike from him. Senior Police Inspector Sangeeta Alphonso said the accused have been remanded in judicial custody.
The Koparkhairane police have solved one house break-in and three vehicle theft cases with the arrest of Akshay Keshav Bhosale (22), and recovered three bikes and 25 tola gold from him, according to Senior Police Inspector Bharat Kamble.
Mr. Bhosale started stealing when he was a minor, and was first arrested in 2010 for stealing a laptop. He was also arrested under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offenses Act after he impregnated a girl from Nallasopara. The case was withdrawn after he agreed to marry her. The accused has been remanded in judicial custody.
The Vashi police have arrested Valji Kamji Rathod (52) in house break-in cases, and Vinod Pappu Gupta (18) and Kisan Shrichand Jaiswal (19) for vehicle thefts. A bike and 21 gram gold has been recovered from the accused. “Mr. Rathod, who sells used clothes in Chembur, used to identify the closed flats while collecting old clothes from people,” Sub-Inspector Vikas Gaikwad said.
All the three accused were traced using CCTV footage and inputs from informers, according to Senior Police Inspector Ajay Landge. They have been remanded in police custody.
The Rabale MIDC police have recovered two bikes from two people arrested in vehicle theft cases: Anubhav Dileep Singh (20) and a minor. They have also seized 14 laptops, pen drives and hard disks worth ₹3.28 lakh from Mr. Singh, which he stole from the company where he worked.
