Bus Passenger To Bike Thief: Pune Visitor Steals 40 Vehicles With 'Master Key' – CCTV Helps Pimpri-Chinchwad Police Catch Him

Pimpri-Chinchwad: Vehicle theft is one of the major concerns in the city of Pimpri-Chinchwad, as every year over 1000 vehicles are reported to be stolen or missing. However, in a major breakthrough, Pimpri-Chinchwad Police have managed to arrest a serial vehicle thief who stole over 40 vehicles across Pune District.

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Speaking at the press conference announcing the vehicle thief’s arrest on Wednesday, Pimpri-Chinchwad’s Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime) Sarang Awad called the thief’s modus operandi basic but very effective.

The thief, who is based in Pathardi tehsil of Ahilyanagar district of Maharashtra, used to come to Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad by bus. His schedule used to be to take a night bus, come to the city in the morning, roam around, steal a vehicle and go back home with it.

The thief has been identified as Ashpaq Isaq Pathan (32, Pathardi). The Crime Branch Unit 2 of Pimpri-Chinchwad Police, led by Senior Police Inspector Arvind Pawar, arrested the accused earlier this week.

With this arrest, a total of 40 motorcycles worth Rs 21,66,000 have been recovered from the accused. The arrest has resulted in the solving of a total of 34 bike theft cases registered across Pune City Police Commissionerate, Pimpri-Chinchwad Police Commissionerate and Pune Rural Police Force jurisdictions.

Bavdhan CCTV Helps Police Identify The Serial Thief

Additional CP Sarang Awad said, “A Hero Honda Splendour motorcycle was stolen from Nande village under the limits of Bavdhan Police Station. A case was registered, and an investigation was being conducted in parallel by Bavdhan Police Station’s Detection Branch (DB) and Crime Branch Unit 2.”

Awad revealed that the crime branch unit 2 team analysed CCTV footage from 70-80 CCTV cameras. Based on technical analysis and confidential information received by the Crime Branch Unit 2 staff, Pathan was arrested by the police on 7th March in the Balewadi area -- presumably while he was looking for more vehicles to steal.

Obsession With Splendour & the Master Key

Awad revealed that during the interrogation, shocking details emerged. The accused, Ashpaq Pathan, would travel from Pathardi to Pune by bus and steal motorcycles from different parts of the city.

He had a particular preference for Hero Splendour motorcycles and primarily targeted them -- mainly due to their high mileage compared to other vehicles. He had a special set of keys, which he calls a master key, and used them to break open the lock of the vehicles.

Police said that he had been consistently committing thefts for the past two to three years. He would sell the stolen bikes at cheap rates by falsely claiming they were “seized by finance companies". He also told buyers that he would provide the vehicle documents later.

Targeted Old Bikes

Police revealed that 10 cases of vehicle theft were already registered against him. In this latest operation, 40 bikes were seized, and 34 theft cases were solved. Ashpaq Pathan had parked some of the stolen bikes near a company in Dighi; he would deliver them from there based on demand.

Sarang Awad said that he specifically targeted Splendour bikes that were four to five years old. The accused believed that over time, any key could easily fit these locks and that people generally do not report thefts of older bikes, or even if they do, the police do not take them seriously. However, our team did take it seriously, resulting in his arrest, noted Awad.

The operation was carried out by a team led by Sr PI, which included PSI Mayuresh Salunkhe, Deepak Kharat, and other personnel from Crime Branch Unit 2.