Pimpri-Chinchwad Police have arrested three repeat offenders suspected of involvement in more than 60 burglaries across Maharashtra, officials confirmed on Wednesday. With the arrests, police said two robbery cases under the Pimpri-Chinchwad Police Commissionerate have now been solved.
The suspects, identified as Dhananjay Harish Kale (29), Chandrakant Ananta Mane, and Sunil Malhari Talware, were picked up by the Crime Branch Unit 1 following a targeted operation.
Arrest during late-night patrol
According to investigators, Unit 1 personnel were patrolling on Sunday night when PSI Shivanand Swami and Constable Deva Raut received a tip-off about a suspicious man roaming in the Nigdi Pradhikaran area. Officers quickly laid a trap and apprehended Kale, who police say also works as an auto-rickshaw driver.
During questioning, Kale allegedly confessed to participating in numerous house break-ins and named his accomplices. Based on his information, Mane and Talware were later arrested. “Two cases registered at Sangvi and Nigdi Police Stations against the trio have been solved,” said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Dr Shivaji Pawar.
Police have recovered jewellery worth ₹7 lakh so far. Investigators believe the group operated in a methodical manner, scouting potential targets during the day and striking once night fell. “It is suspected that this trio is involved in over 60 such cases,” DCP Pawar added.
The crackdown was executed under the direction of Commissioner of Police Vinoy Kumar Choubey, JCP Dr Shashikant Mahavarkar, Additional CP Sarang Awad, DCP (Crime) Dr Shivaji Pawar, and ACP (Crime 1) Dr Vishal Hire. The operation team was led by Senior PI Narendra Thakare, with officers API Dattatraya Gulig, PSIs Karmaraj Gawade and Shivanand Swami, and several constables including Santosh Ingale, Dilip Chaudhary, Shivram Bhope, Deva Raut, Deepak Tandale, Vijay Janrao, Keshav Chepate, and Sohail Chikhalkar.