In a significant breakthrough, the Swargate Police have apprehended a 40-year-old woman involved in a series of gold thefts targeting female passengers at the bustling Swargate ST Stand and PMPML Bus Stop.
Acting on a tip-off from a secret informant, Police Constables Sujay Pawar and Sandeep Ghule of the Swargate Police Station crime investigation team identified a woman matching the description—wearing a chocolate-coloured top, yellow leggings, and a white scarf—attempting to sell stolen gold ornaments near the Shivajinagar PMPML Bus Stop around 4:00 PM on Friday.
Under the direction of Police Inspector Rahul Kolambikar and Senior Police Inspector Yuvraj Nandre, the team swiftly moved into action. With two women constables and independent witnesses present, the suspect was intercepted and detained when she attempted to flee. On being questioned, she identified herself as Bhagyashree Jitesh Kasbe, a resident of Vishrantwadi, Pune, originally from Vikasnagar, Latur.
Upon searching her handbag in the presence of panch witnesses, the police recovered various gold ornaments. However, the accused could not produce purchase receipts for the items. A deeper interrogation revealed that she had been operating at the Swargate ST Stand for several months, stealing jewellery from unsuspecting female commuters in crowded buses. She admitted that due to the lack of documentation, she had failed to find buyers for her loot.
The recovered ornaments were later matched with reports from previously registered cases at the Swargate Police Station. So far, gold jewellery worth ₹1.5 lakh (approximately 30 grams) linked to three theft cases has been seized from her possession.
The case has been registered under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code, and further investigation is underway to trace additional incidents or accomplices.
This successful operation was carried out under the guidance of Pune Police Commissioner Amitesh Kumar Sahoo, Joint Commissioner Ranjan Kumar Sharma, Additional Commissioner of Police (West Region) Rajesh Bansode, Deputy Commissioner Smartana Patil, and Assistant Commissioner Rahul Aware. The field operation was led by Sr. PI Yuvraj Nandre and PI Rahul Kolambikar, with support from PSI Ravindra Kaspete and police personnel Ashruba Morale, Harshal Shinde, Sujay Pawar, Sandeep Ghule, Feroze Sheikh, Ramesh Chavan, Deepak Khandad, Prashant Tonpe, and Hanumant Dudhe.
The Swargate Police have appealed to citizens who may have fallen victim to similar thefts to come forward and assist in identifying the stolen items.
