Two held, four minors detained for stealing bikes; 12 cases cracked

The Panvel City Police have arrested two men and detained four juveniles for stealing bikes for pleasure. The men have been identified as Sushil Sunil Mhaske (25) from Kharghar and Santosh Rajkumar Kamble (18) from Panvel, who worked as a team. Of the four minors, two each had a gang. One of the four who is from Uran had run away from a juvenile home after breaking the tin sheet roof of the kitchen on November 28.

According to the police, the accused used to abandon the bikes after the petrol tank got empty. “Twelve cases have been solved and seven vehicles have been recovered. The accused had fascination about bikes and wanted to ride different models,” police sub-inspector Sunil Tarmale, Panvel City Police station, said.

Of the 12 cases, 10 were registered with Panvel City police station while one each was from Sanpada and Kharghar police station.

Meanwhile, a 37-year-old man was arrested for stealing valuables from the boot of a car. The accused identified as Vikas Mohan Dhotre, Panvel, targeted cars parked near gardens and markets in Old Panvel.

“Often when women go for a walk in garden or to the market, they keep their mobiles and purses inside the boot of the car. He used to keep a watch on such cars and using duplicate keys, would open them and make away with the valuables,” assistant police inspector Ishan Kharate from Panvel City Police station said. In one such case wherein he committed the crime a month ago, he sold off the mobile and the police traced him using technical evidence.