Two Tamil Nadu men held for laptop, mobile thefts from Pune PGs; Rs 5.5 lakh goods recovered

Pune, November 2, 2026: The Pune city police crime branch has arrested two men accused of travelling from another state to steal laptops, expensive mobile phones and other electronic goods from paying guest (PG) accommodations in the city. After the arrests, the crime branch's Robbery and Vehicle Theft Prevention Squad 2 claims to have solved eight theft cases registered at the Hadapsar, Kharadi and Chandannagar police stations. Police have also recovered stolen goods worth Rs 5.5 lakh.

According to Senior Police Inspector Anjum Bagwan, thefts had risen at PGs housing students and IT professionals in the city. Police then formed two special teams.

The investigation began with a theft case registered at Hadapsar police station, FIR No. 701/2026, in which laptops, mobile phones and electronic equipment worth Rs 2.10 lakh were stolen. Police went through CCTV footage from nearby areas and also gathered intelligence.

On this basis, police caught two suspects near Gadital in Hadapsar on October 31. They have been identified as Kumar Mariyappan (33) and Krishna Olodan (25). Both are originally from Ambur in Tamil Nadu and were living in Yavat in Daund taluka of Pune district.

During questioning, the accused allegedly admitted to their role in the Hadapsar theft. Further investigation has indicated their involvement in several thefts in Kharadi and Chandannagar as well, which remains at the level of allegation. The accused also said they had hidden the stolen goods at their lodging in Yavat.

Acting on this information, police searched the place in the presence of panch witnesses and recovered laptops, mobile phones and other electronic equipment, valued at Rs 5.5 lakh. The recovery has led police to a total of eight theft cases. Of these, one was registered at Hadapsar police station, five at Kharadi police station and two at Chandannagar police station.

Senior Police Inspector Anjum Bagwan described the accused's modus operandi. Both are alleged to have come from Tamil Nadu to Pune specifically to steal laptops and mobile phones. They lived in rented rooms in rural areas around Pune and entered the city early in the morning. PGs housing students and IT professionals were their targets, and they would pick up laptops and expensive mobile phones from rooms whose doors were found open. Once they had gathered enough goods, they allegedly went to Tamil Nadu and sold them there.

The action was taken under the guidance of Pune Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar, Joint Commissioner of Police Sanjay Daradade, Additional Commissioner of Police (Crime) Tejaswi Satpute, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Crime) Gauhar Hasan and Assistant Commissioner of Police Shankar Khatke of Crime Branch 3.

The team from the Robbery and Vehicle Theft Prevention Squad 2 of Pune city crime branch included Senior Police Inspector Anjum Bagwan, Sub-Inspector Santosh Tanwade, Assistant Sub-Inspector Jotiba Kurale, Police Head Constables Paresh Sawant, Mahesh Barwakar and Rupali Suryawanshi, and constables Sachin Kamble, Praful More and Vinayak Yewale.