Pimpri: The Crime Branch Unit II of Pimpri-Chinchwad Police has arrested a seasoned vehicle thief responsible for over 70 thefts across Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad, Pune Rural areas, Dharashiv, and Ahilyanagar.
The accused, Shankar Bharat Devkule, 32, was apprehended while attempting to sell stolen motorcycles. Following his arrest, the police have solved 15 theft cases.
Shankar Devkule, a resident of Uruli Devachi in Haveli taluka, originally hails from Fakiranagar, Vairag Naka, Dharashiv. His modus operandi involved targeting motorcycles and auto-rickshaws parked in isolated areas, particularly near metro stations, without handle locks. Devkule used fake keys to steal the vehicles and sold them to unsuspecting, illiterate buyers.
The arrest came after Police Sub-Inspector Shivanand Swami and Constable Jaywant Raut of Crime Branch Unit II received a tip-off from an informant.
They were alerted to a man roaming in the Kharalwadi area with a stolen motorcycle. Acting swiftly, a team of officers was dispatched to the area, where they found a man with a Pulsar motorcycle near Punjab Chemical Factory. Upon seeing the police, the suspect attempted to flee, but the officers had already surrounded him, making escape impossible.
During interrogation, Devkule confessed to stealing the Pulsar motorcycle from a metro station. Further questioning revealed that he had stolen a total of 13 motorcycles and 2 auto-rickshaws from various locations, including Pimpri-Chinchwad, Pune, and Shantinagar in Bhiwandi, all using fake keys.
The police have linked Devkule to 15 cases across different police stations, including 3 cases in Nigdi, 2 in Chinchwad, 2 in Bharati Vidyapeeth, and one each from Bhosari, Pimpri, Dighi, Ravet, Hadapsar, Khadki, Wanwadi, and Shantinagar (Bhiwandi).
This successful operation was conducted under the guidance of Pimpri-Chinchwad Police Commissioner Vinoy Kumar Choubey, Joint Commissioner of Police Shashikant Mahavarkar, Additional Commissioner Vasant Pardeshi, and Deputy Commissioner of Police Sandeep Doiphode.
The arrest was made by a team led by Inspector Jitendra Kadam, along with Sub-Inspectors Ganesh Mane and Shivanand Swami, and other officers, including Dilip Chaudhari, Pramod Vetal, Jaywant Raut, Usha Dale, and others.