Pune: Inter-state gang of thieves held

PUNE: The Pimpri Chinchwad crime branch on Tuesday claimed to have solved the case of theft of gold, silver and diamonds ornaments worth Rs 1 crore from a private luxury bus on February 14, with the arrest of three members of an inter-state gang of criminals. The police have recovered gold bars worth Rs 25 lakh and a car used by the suspects.
The suspects had stolen the bag for the bus parked on the premises of a restaurant at Punawale along Katraj-Dehu Road bypass. Deepak Saini (24) of Telangana, an employee of Secunderabad-based logistics firm that transports gold, silver and diamond from one state to another, had lodged an FIR with the Hinjewadi police. Saini was carrying the ornaments from Secunderbad to Mumbai when the theft occurred.
The suspects - Mushtaq Khan (30), Ismail Khan (28) and Rajendra Soni (29) - were taken into custody from Madhya Pradesh on a tip-off received by assistant police inspector of the Pimpri Chinchwad crime branch Satish Kamble. "The crime branch was in Madhya Pradesh for over eight days. The team laid traps at different spots in Madhya Pradesh and took the trio into custody. Their two more accomplices are still on the run," said deputy commissioner of police Vinayak Dhakane here on Tuesday.
The investigating team comprised sub-inspector Harshal Kadam, Ashok Gawari, police constables Narayan Jadhav, Sanjay Gaware, Tushar Shete, Kunal Shinde, Mayur Wadkar and Dattatreya Bansude.