Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh): Five miscreants involved in habitual stealing of pan masala and cigarettes from various shops across the city have been arrested by Jabalpur’s Garha police Wednesday. Goods worth ₹1.5 lakh have been recovered from the accused and they are currently being interrogated.
According to information, the five suspects were part of a gang specialised in stealing expensive pan masala and cigarettes from small and large shops in the city. Matter came to the fore when a shop owner at Shahi Naka, Pushp Kumar Jain, lodged a complaint of theft at his pan shop.
The accused of stealing premium cigarettes & pan masala in Jabalpur | FP Photo
Goods worth ₹1.5 lakh recovered
Acting on this report, the police managed to track down all the five culprits. They are identified as Shabbir Mansuri, Shehnaaz, Mohammad Abid, Sharik and Irfan. All are residents of Gohalpur. Also, police have recovered goods worth ₹1.5 lakh from the accused.
The recovered goods | FP Photo
According to Garha police station in-charge Nilesh Dohre, “The gang was highly skilled in their operations. They swiftly sold the stolen items in the market. The thieves preferred stealing pan masala and cigarettes over gold and silver because they are easy to resell, unlike stolen jewellery.”
During interrogation, the accused confessed to carrying out nearly half a dozen thefts in different parts of the city. The Garha police are continuing their investigation and believe that these arrests may help solve several other unsolved theft cases.
