Two salesmen in net for stealing car after 6-month hunt, aide still at large

PUNE: After months of sustained search, the Hadapsar police on Friday arrested two salesmen for stealing a car from a second-hand vehicle market in Magarpatta on April 25.

The suspects, Omkar Kamble (20) and Tushar Chavan (20), are both residents of Hadapsar. The car shop owner Rajesh Sahni had lodged an FIR against the suspects after the vehicle was stolen from the parking lot of Mega Centre at Magarpatta.

Police initially checked criminal records of those involved in vehicle thefts, besides technical investigations, but got no leads on the miscreants.

Recently, sub-inspector Somnath Shendge and his team received a tip-off from that the car whose original number plate was replaced with a fake one was being used for joyrides by Kamble and Chavan and their accomplice (name with held).

A police team under led by inspectors Anjum Bagwan and Vishwajeet Khule took Kamble and Chavan into custody on suspicion.

During interrogation, the duo confessed of their involvement in the car theft. The vehicle was later recovered from a secluded spot in Loni Kalbhor near Pune.

Shendge told TOI on Saturday, "Investigations revealed that the suspects visited Sahni's shop because his employee, who was physically challenged and suffered from visual impairment, was known to them. The suspects took advantage of his disability and replaced the original keys with a duplicate one. On April 25, they later stole the car from the parking lot and fled."

The suspects were arrested under section 379 (theft) of the Indian Penal Code. Police have launched a hunt for another suspect who remains at large.