The Navi Mumbai Crime Branch Unit 3, Panvel, has arrested four habitual thieves in two separate operations, leading to the detection of nine theft and housebreaking cases registered across Panvel, Kalamboli, Khandeshwar, Ulwe, Neral and Kudal police limits.
Watchman Assaulted; Construction Material Stolen
In the first case, four men tied up and assaulted a watchman before stealing iron bridge construction material from the A-TAK Enterprises railway-bridge site on the Uran–Gavanphata Road on September 7.
Following the investigation, police arrested Shamsher Sher Khan (21) and Kuldeep Bachchu Singh (23) from CBD Belapur. The duo later confessed to committing multiple construction-material thefts in Panvel City, Khandeshwar and Ulwe. They have been remanded to police custody till 4 December 2025, and the case is being probed by Panvel City Police under BNS sections 309(6), 331(4) and 3(5).
Top Brass Directs Crackdown
The arrests were made following directives from Navi Mumbai Police Commissioner Milind Bharambe, Joint CP Sanjay Yenpure, Additional CP (Crime) Deepak Sakore, and DCP (Crime Branch) Sachin Gunjal.
A special team led by ACP Ajaykumar Landge used technical analysis and informer networks to track down the suspects. Interrogation of the duo led to the detection of six cases, including offences under BNS 303(2) in Khandeshwar and Ulwe.
Major Housebreaking Case Cracked
In the second operation, Crime Branch teams solved a major housebreaking case registered at Kalamboli Police Station, where thieves broke into the home of Gurunath Shanmukhappa Narshetty (64) between October 3–7, 2025, while the family was away in Bengaluru.
Gold and silver ornaments, along with cash, were stolen. CCTV analysis across Kalamboli, Panvel and Taloja helped identify two suspects — Salim Mohammad Shaikh (37) of Ratnagiri and Taufiq Mohammad Shaikh (32) of Belgaum, Karnataka. The duo were detained from Ambernath and linked to three housebreaking cases in Kalamboli, Neral and Kudal, registered under BNS sections 331(3), 331(4) and 3(5).
Stolen Property Recovered
Stolen property has been recovered from all four accused, who are currently lodged in Taloja Central Prison under judicial custody.
“We have intensified action against organised theft groups. These arrests show that coordinated intelligence and swift fieldwork can significantly curb housebreaking and material-theft offences,” a senior Crime Branch officer said.
Team Behind the Operations
The operations were executed under the leadership of Senior Police Inspector Avinash Kaldate, with officers Pavan Nandre, Abhaysingh Shinde, Madhav Ingle, Anil Patil, Ramesh Shinde, Pramod Rajput, Ajit Patil, Nilesh Patil, Rupesh Patil, Indrajit Kanu, Deepak Dongre, Sagar Rasal, Hirkani Patil, Ajinath Phude, Lavkush Shingade, Prasad Gharat and Vikant Mali.
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