2 cops held for bid to pocket recovered gold ornaments

PUNE: Two police constables were arrested late on Wednesday night for their alleged bid to pocket recovered stolen gold ornaments worth Rs 2.99 lakh.

The ornaments were recovered in a theft case that took place at a house in Yerawada a few days back. “The two constables, identified as Nitin Shinde and Akash Simre, were posted with the Koregaon Park police station as beat marshals. They had nabbed the two thieves involved in the case on the night of February 2. However, instead of informing the police station about the thieves and the recovery, the duo let the suspects walk free,” an officer from the Yerawada police said.

The theft case was registered with the Yerawada police station. “The incident came to light after police arrested the two thieves but did not find any ornaments with them. During investigations, the thieves informed the police that the two constables had kept the booty with them,” the officer said.

According to the police, the two thieves, including a minor boy, executed the theft and went to the Bund Garden Road area. They then picked up a fight over the distribution of the booty when the two constables chanced upon them.

The two policemen then took the thieves to the Mangaldas police chowkey and checked the valuables, the officer said, adding that the booty included gold bangles and chains, among others.

The officer said the two constables kept the booty with them with a motive to pocket them. “One of them even gave his cellphone number to the thieves. We have recovered the booty from the constables’ possession,” he said.