Pune: In an intensive operation, Pune police arrested a sandalwood thief who attacked patrolling officers on Law College Road and escaped. During the police's self-defense response, two thieves were injured. Efforts are ongoing to locate the other suspects involved.
The incident occurred around 2:30 a.m. on October 22, when constables Mahesh Tambe and Ganesh Satav from Deccan Police Station were patrolling the Law College Road area near Janki Villa Bungalow, Abhinav College Path.
There, the officers noticed a group of men lurking suspiciously in the darkness and attempted to investigate. The group, which included Asif Harunkhan Golwal, began giving evasive responses when questioned.
Suddenly, Golwal’s accomplices emerged from the darkness and attacked constables Tambe and Satav with saws. In self-defense, constable Tambe fired shots toward the attackers’ legs, causing them to flee into the night after a brief struggle.
Technical investigations later revealed that the suspects had fled to Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar. Police arrested Golwal from Janjal village in that district.
During his questioning, it was confirmed that two of his associates were injured in the encounter. Meanwhile, a search is underway to apprehend the remaining suspects.
The arrested thief, identified as Asif Harunkhan Golwal (24), resides in Janjal village, near the Zilla Parishad School in Silod, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.
The injured suspects were identified as Shahrukh Kadirkhan Pathan and Farukh Khan Kadirkhan Pathan, residents of Janjal. A case has also been registered against other accomplices: Nadeem Khan Latif Khan, Feroz Khan Sharif Khan, and Nazim Khan Sadukhan, who are all involved in this organized theft.
This operation was conducted under the guidance of senior police officials including Commissioner Amitesh Kumar, Joint Commissioner Ranjan Kumar Sharma, Additional Commissioner Praveen Kumar Patil, Deputy Commissioner Sandeep Singh Gill, and Assistant Commissioner Sainath Thombre.
Officers from Deccan Police Station who were instrumental in the arrest include Senior Inspector Girisha Nimbalkar, Crime Branch Inspector Shabbir Syed, Assistant Inspector Kavatikar, Sub-Inspectors Mahesh Bhosale, Ajay Bhosale, Shubham Desai, Rahul Makhare, Shinde, Dhanashree Supekar, Darekar, Sonawane, Sable, Sagar Ghadge, and Wasim Siddiqui.
