Pune: Swargate Police Arrest Serial Mobile Thief, Seize Stolen Devices Worth Rs 7.45 Lakh

Swargate, 22nd January 2025: Pune Police have apprehended a 32-year-old man, identified as Satish Dnyaneshwar Shirole, in connection with a series of mobile phone thefts across Pune. The arrest followed a tip-off regarding suspicious activities at the Swargate Pune Mahanagar Parivahan Mahamandal Limited (PMPML) bus stop.

Today morning, at approximately 8:00 AM, a Detection Branch (DB) of Swargate Police Station noticed a man behaving suspiciously amidst the crowd at the Swargate PMPML bus stop. When approached, he attempted to flee but was quickly caught with assistance from the team. Upon verifying his identity as Satish Shirole, officers discovered three mobile phones—a Vivo, a Redmi, and an Oppo—in his possession.

During questioning, Shirole admitted to stealing the phones from passengers at Swargate bus stops and the Pune station area. He confessed to snatching the Vivo phone from a woman boarding a bus last month and stealing the other two devices near Pune station.

Further investigations led the police to a mobile shop named Haseena Enterprises in Kondhwa, Pune, run by Mohammed Shahid Ilyas Ansari, aged 34. The shop was found to be storing stolen mobile phones. Officers seized 43 stolen devices along with a laptop used for data erasure, with the total value of the items estimated at ₹7.45 lakh.

Shirole, a historysheeter with six prior theft cases, has been taken into custody and is facing multiple charges. Swargate Police are investigating the matter further.

This operation was conducted under the guidance of Pune City Commissioner of Police Amitesh Kumar, Joint Commissioner of Police Ranjan Kumar Sharma, Additional Commissioner of Police (West) Praveen Kumar Patil, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 2) Smartana Patil, and Assistant Commissioner of Police (Swargate Division) Rahul Aware. The Swargate Police Station team was led by Senior Police Inspector Yuvraj Nandre and included Assistant Police Inspector Rahul Kolambikar, Police Sub-Inspector Ravindra Kaspate, and Police Constables Ashruba Morale, Sachin Tanpure, Sujay Pawar, Deepak Khendad, Harshal Shinde, Firoz Shaikh, Hanumant Dudhe, Ramesh Chavan, Prashant Tonpe, and Sandeep Ghule.