Pune police arrest two alleged burglars in Ghaziabad, recover goods worth about Rs 10 lakh

Pune's Vishrambaug police have arrested two alleged burglars from Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh in connection with a house burglary. According to police, the accused had fled hundreds of kilometres from Pune after the crime. Police followed leads across four states and recovered goods worth about Rs 10 lakh.

The two arrested have been named as Habib Hafiz Saifi and Akbar alias Feroz Sultan Saifi. They are accused of involvement in a house burglary registered at Vishrambaug police station this year.

According to police, unidentified persons targeted a house when no one was present. They broke the main door and fled with jewellery. A case was registered under Sections 305(a), 331(3) and 3(5) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

Senior Police Inspector Navnath Jagtap did not let the case go unsolved. He set the strategy for the investigation and told his team to trace the accused as quickly as possible.

The first breakthrough came from CCTV footage. Policeman Arjun Thorat went through footage from cameras around the scene and extracted images of the suspected thieves. Investigators then stepped up technical analysis and intelligence gathering to find where the suspects were.

The decisive turn came when Police Constables Nitin Mundhe and Anis Shaikh received confidential information that the suspects were hiding in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh.

As the suspects were believed to be far from Maharashtra, police began operations in other states. A special team was formed under Assistant Police Inspector Umesh Karke, comprising Nitin Mundhe, Shivdatta Gaikwad, Anis Shaikh and Arjun Thorat. The team travelled to Delhi, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.

From October 23 to October 29, the team followed leads at different locations, coordinated with local police and, with the help of technical information, closed in on the suspects. The operation was finally completed in Ghaziabad, where both accused were caught.

Police then recovered goods worth about Rs 10 lakh, allegedly linked to the burglary.

The operation was carried out under the guidance of Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar, Joint Commissioner Sanjay Daradey, Additional Commissioner Rajesh Bansode, Deputy Commissioner Krushikesh Ravale and Assistant Commissioner Anuja Deshmane. Senior Police Inspector Navnath Jagtap and Police Inspector (Crime) Ramesh Lahigude supervised the entire operation.

For Vishrambaug police, the seven-day chase ended with two arrests and the recovery of goods worth about Rs 10 lakh. CCTV surveillance, technical investigation and ground-level intelligence all played a part in the case.