Pune: In a significant breakthrough in the fight against vehicle theft, the Detection Branch (DB) team of Mundhwa Police Station has dismantled a two-wheeler theft racket operating across Pune and neighboring districts. Two suspects have been arrested, and five stolen motorcycles worth over ₹3.09 lakh have been recovered. In a tragic twist, two of their accomplices died in a road accident while attempting to escape with another stolen bike.
The crackdown began during a routine patrol by Constables Shivaji Jadhav and Yogesh Raut, who received a tip-off that two individuals involved in multiple thefts were planning to sell a stolen Yamaha R15 near Hadapsar Railway Station. The officers quickly relayed the information to API Raju Mahanor, who heads the DB unit, and a police team was swiftly dispatched to the location.
The suspects were apprehended with the stolen bike under a bridge near the railway station. During interrogation, they were identified as Rameshwar Ankush Dhangar (27), a resident of Paithan in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (formerly Aurangabad), and Jalal Hanif Shaikh (23), from Jogeshwari in the same district. Initially attempting to mislead investigators, the duo eventually confessed to stealing the motorcycle from Keshavnagar. The vehicle was confirmed to be linked to Crime No. 93/2025 at Mundhwa Police Station.
Further investigation revealed that the arrested individuals were part of a larger inter-district vehicle theft gang. While police were pursuing their associates, it emerged that two other members of the same gang had died in a fatal road accident on the Ahilyanagar–Pune Highway. The two were attempting to flee with another stolen Yamaha R15, later traced to Crime No. 94/2025 registered at Mundhwa Police Station. A separate FIR regarding the accident has been filed at Ahilyanagar Police Station.
One of the arrested suspects, Rameshwar Ankush Dhangar, is a habitual offender with over 15 previous vehicle theft cases registered against him in Pune City, Pune Rural, Paithan, and Beed.
The operation was carried out under the supervision of senior police officials including Manoj Patil, Additional Commissioner of Police (East Region); Rajkumar Shinde, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 5); Anuradha Udmale, Assistant Commissioner of Police (Hadapsar Division); Senior Police Inspector Nilkanth Jagtap; and Police Inspector (Crime) Babasaheb Nikam.
The core investigative team included API Raju Mahanor and Police Constables Yogesh Gaikwad, Shivaji Jadhav, Rahul More, Yogesh Raut, and Vinod Salunkhe. Their prompt and coordinated action led to the successful arrest of key members of the gang and the recovery of stolen vehicles, striking a major blow to a widespread vehicle theft network operating across Maharashtra.
