Pune: The Local Crime Branch (LCB), Pune Rural, along with Saswad and Shirur police, arrested three men in connection with a housebreaking theft case in Shirur. Police recovered stolen property worth ₹18.5 lakh at market value, including 121 grams of gold jewellery and 200 grams of silver jewellery.
The arrests were made on Aug 15 after a joint team traced the suspects to the Lasurne area under the jurisdiction of Walchandnagar Police Station.
The suspects have been identified as Suraj Bhima Nimbalkar of Dorlewadi in Baramati, Shankar Tayappa Ghorpade of Lasurne Vaidwadi in Indapur and Sangam Lala Shinde of Lasurne in Indapur.
The thefts took place on July 12. According to police, unidentified persons broke the lock of a BSNL office in State Bank Colony, Shirur, using an instrument. They entered the office and stole frame motherboards and printed circuit boards (PCBs) belonging to BSNL.
The suspects also allegedly broke into a locked house in Wada Colony, Shirur, and stole gold and silver jewellery.
A case was registered at Shirur Police Station under Crime Register No. 649/2026. Police invoked Sections 305, 331(3) and 331(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).
Following the thefts, Pune Rural Superintendent of Police Sandeep Singh Gill directed the LCB and police teams in the subdivision to focus on property-related crimes in the Shirur area.
The LCB team examined the crime scenes and studied the timing and modus operandi of the thefts. Details of similar cases were also compiled.
A special team carried out technical analysis. Police also collected descriptions of the suspects from witnesses and the complainant and shared details with confidential informants. CCTV footage from roads around the crime scenes was checked as part of the investigation.
The investigation indicated that suspects linked to the theft were in the Lasurne area.
Acting on the information, LCB personnel and a team from Saswad Police Station went to Lasurne on Aug 15. They detained Nimbalkar, Ghorpade and Shinde for questioning.
Police said the three confessed to their involvement in the Shirur housebreaking case during questioning.
Police recovered the stolen gold and silver jewellery from a location where the suspects had allegedly hidden it. The recovery was recorded through a seizure panchnama.
The suspects were initially remanded to police custody and are now in magisterial custody.
Police said the three suspects disclosed that they had committed the crime with the help of other accomplices. The search for the remaining suspects is underway.
The operation was carried out jointly by the LCB investigation team, Saswad Police and the investigating officer from Shirur Police Station. Police said the recovered property is valued at ₹18.5 lakh at current market rates.
