The police have solved nine more house break-in cases across Maharashtra and recovered 26 tola gold from the inter-State gang of burglars arrested by the Local Crime Branch (LCB) of Raigad in July.
With this, the number of cases solved has gone up to 21, with a total of 57 kg gold recovered from the burglars.
The gang members, who are from Madhya Pradesh, broke into houses in various districts, including Raigad, Pune and Ahmednagar. They have been identified as Sunil Lalsingh Mujhalda (23), Ravi alias Chotu Mohan Daavar (18) and Kapil Gajendra Pancholi alias Jain (18), all belonging to an adivasi tribe. While Mr. Daavar and Mr. Mujhalda broke into houses, Mr. Jain purchased the stolen jewellery.
They were nabbed with the help of dump data and CCTV footage. The LCB first nabbed Mr. Daavar and then Mr. Mujhalda. Mr. Jain was arrested later. “The accused used to travel to Ahmednagar via Dhule in a tourist bus from Indore. They would go to Pune and Konkan by public transport. They would identify houses that were closed and then spend the night along riverbanks. After midnight, they would break into the homes, armed with hammers and stones in case they were caught, and steal valuables. They would then steal parked bikes and ride to Madhya Pradesh,” senior police inspector Jamil Shaikh from LCB said.
Initially, the police believed the gang was involved in 12 cases, but the burglars have now revealed details of nine more. The cases are from Pen, Alibaug, Mahad police stations in Raigad district, Khed police station, Chiplun police station, Bhor in Pune district, and Loni in Ahmednagar district.
