Pune Police Recover Stolen 3.4 Kg Gold Jewellery And Rs 10 Lakh Cash, Employee Among 6 Arrested Persons
Pune, 13th January 2024: In a breakthrough development, the officials from Faraskhana police station have recovered 3.4 Kg out of 5 kg 323 grams of gold jewelry worth Rs 3.32 crore and Rs 10 lakh 93 thousand in cash which were stolen from a businessman’s shop in Raviwar Peth.
The main accused, Sunil Khandu Kokere, along with his accomplices, had strategically hidden the stolen gold in Sangli’s fields and a water pipe, a discovery made possible by the use of a ‘metal detector.’
The arrested individuals include Kokere, Siddheshwar alias Tanaji Rajaram Khandekar, Sunil’s mother Rajshree Khandu Kokere, and brothers Anil Khandu Kokere, Navnath Khandu Kokere, and Anil Garle. The police acted on a complaint filed by Deepak Netaji Mane, owner of Raj Casting shop.
Anil Garle, a friend of Mane’s nephew and an acquaintance of the main accused Sunil, played a pivotal role in introducing Sunil to Mane and securing him a job. After working together for two months, Garle and Sunil, along with Tanaji, hatched a plan to steal from the shop. On the night of December 31, the accused stole the shop key from the complainant’s nephew’s bag while everyone was asleep. After executing the theft, they stealthily returned the key to the bag.
Between 8 pm on December 31 and 10 am on January 1, the accused opened the shop’s iron safe and looted the money. The Pune Crime Branch and Faraskhana Police initiated an investigation, leading to the detainment of Sunil and Khandekar in Jat, their confession to the crime, and the subsequent detainment of Garle from Kolhapur, informed DCP (Zone 1) Sandeep Singh Gill.
Upon interrogation, Sunil revealed that the stolen goods were hidden in a field near his house. The police seized 2 kg 983 grams 5 milligrams of gold and cash worth Rs. 7 lakh 73 thousand 70 from the field. Further searches uncovered an additional 497 grams of gold and Rs. 1 lakh 50 thousand hidden in the field.
The involvement of Sunil’s mother, Rajshree, and brothers Anil and Navnath in concealing the stolen goods came to light during the investigation. As a result, section 414 of the IPC was added to the registered crime, leading to their arrest. However, their lack of cooperation prompted further investigation in their native village, where assistance from the Sangli Rural Police proved crucial. The bomb detection and disposal team, along with a dog team, aided the search operation and unearthed Rs 50,000 in cash hidden in a PVC pipe in the field, which was subsequently confiscated.
The investigation team included ACP (Faraskhana division) Ashok Dhumal,
Faraskhana Police Station’s Senior Police Inspector Dadasaheb Chudappa, Crime Branch Unit One Police Inspector Shabbir Syed, Police Inspector (Crime) Mangesh Jagtap, Assistant Police Inspector Vaibhav Gaikwad, Assistant Police Inspector Ashish Kawtekar, Police Sub Inspector Nilesh Mokashi, and police personnel Mehbub Mokashi, Nirmala Shinde, Pramod Mohite, Ganesh Dalvi, Pravin Pasalkar, Vaibhav Swamy, Sumit Khutte, Sandeep Kamble, Rakesh Kshirsagar, Sameer Malvadkar, Ganesh Atole, Pankaj Deshmukh, Tushar Khadke, Ajit Shinde and Shashikant Nanavare.
