19-year-old arrested for burglary & theft

PUNE: The Bharati Vidyapeeth police recently arrested a 19-year-old youth for burglary and theft.
With the arrest, the police solved five cases and recovered gold ornaments and a cellphone, totally worth Rs1.54 lakh, from his possession.

The police have identified the suspect as Deepak Rajendra Nikhal, a resident of Vetalnagar in Ambegaon. A team comprising Bharati Vidyapeeth police personnel took Nikhal into custody on September 24, acting on a tip-off.

Sub-inspector Shivdas Gaikwad of the Bharati Vidyapeeth police station told TOI that constables Ujjwal Mokashi and Shivdatta Gaikwad had received information that two men, who had broken into a flat in Katraj’s Rajas Society area about five months ago, would be coming to Gaimukh Chowk in Katraj. “We sent two teams to the area and took Nikhal into custody,” Gaikwad said

Nikhal was produced before a court and remanded in police custody.

Initially, he proved reticent. “He was not ready to accept his involvement in the burglary at first,” sub-inspector Gaikwad said.

“But, under sustained interrogation, Nikhal admitted his involvement in (multiple) burglaries. He also confessed to stealing valuables from parked two-wheelers,” Gaikwad said, adding that they solved five cases and recovered loot worth Rs1.54 lakh.

According to the police, Nikhal carried out the burglaries with the help of an accomplice. “He also used to open the seats of scooters of a particular make and steal valuables from the boot,” Gaikwad added.

The police have launched a manhunt for Nikhal’s accomplice. The investigating team comprised constables Pradip Gurav, Vinod Bhandalkar, Shridhar Patil and Ganesh Sutar.