Two held in Nagpur for bike thefts, four stolen two-wheelers recovered

The Crime Branch Unit-4 in Nagpur has made a significant breakthrough in vehicle theft cases. Police have busted an alleged gang of two, a 20-year-old habitual offender and a minor boy. Four stolen two-wheelers, valued at about Rs 3.20 lakh in all, were recovered from them.

The Crime Branch team had received reliable information that two youths were moving around suspiciously with a stolen vehicle near the KDK College playground. The team reached the spot immediately and spotted two boys matching the description given by the informant. On seeing the police, both suspects tried to flee, but the police chased and caught them and took them into custody for questioning.

When they were checked in the presence of independent witnesses, the adult accused was identified as Ashish alias Pranit alias Raftar Shailesh Waghmare (20), a resident of Lumbini Nagar near Kadbi Chowk in Jaripatka. The other suspect turned out to be a boy in conflict with the law.

During questioning, both allegedly admitted that the Honda Activa they were using was the subject of a vehicle theft case registered at Hudkeshwar police station. According to police, after sustained questioning the two also allegedly admitted to involvement in three more thefts. They said that, besides the original case, they had together committed one theft each in the areas of Hudkeshwar, Ajni and Tehsil police stations.

The suspects also said the stolen vehicles had been hidden on the KDK College premises and covered with a tarpaulin to keep them from public view. Acting on this information, the Crime Branch team recovered all four vehicles from the place they named.

The recovered vehicles are a Honda Activa (MH-32-AZ-3093), a Hero Honda Splendor (MH-31-AZ-8422), a Hero Honda Splendor (MH-31-FT-5429) and a TVS Apache (MH-49-BY-7640).

The case began on October 28. Pranjal Akshay Warkhade, 24, a resident of Vigyan Nagar who lives near Rustamji Heights on Manewada Road, had locked his Rs 80,000 Honda Activa outside his house. When he returned, the vehicle was gone. On his complaint, Hudkeshwar police registered a case against an unknown accused under Section 303(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS).

Recovering four vehicles in a single operation has given investigators an important lead to a network of two-wheeler thefts in Nagpur. Since the stolen vehicles were allegedly hidden on the college premises, the question has also arisen of how the suspects used that place to hide their goods.

The adult accused and the minor boy have been handed over to Hudkeshwar police, along with the recovered vehicles, for further legal action. Police are now examining whether the two have any alleged links to other theft cases, and whether more stolen vehicles could be recovered.