Alert woman foils burglary bid in Lonavla

Pune: For 30-year-old Sheetal Shinde, Wednesday afternoon was like any other, until she heard someone breaking into her neighbour’s home.
Showing presence of mind, Shinde first raised an alarm and then chased the burglar till he was apprehended by other people.
The drama had taken place at Nanargaon in Lonavla. The suspect, Raju Mhetre (20), hails from Latur district and has several cases of theft registered against him with the local police.
According to a Lonavla city police officer, Shinde heard a sound like a window pane getting smashed in the neighbouring bungalow. “She rushed out of her house and found an unidentified man on the first floor of the bungalow. He had broken the window pane and was trying to open the door,” the officer further said.
Shinde immediately became suspicious and raised an alarm. “When he heard her, the suspect jumped from the first floor and hotfooted it towards the Bhangarwadi area,” the officer added.
Shinde immediately started chasing him, all the while alerting bystanders on the road. When they saw a woman chasing the burglar, a few onlookers joined the chase and managed to nab him.
They alerted the Lonavla city police station.
“Beat marshals Ravindra Sarse and Pavan Tayade rushed to the spot and took the suspect into custody,” the officer said.
Mhetre is currently a resident of Maval. “We are trying to ascertain whether he was involved in recent burglaries in Lonavla,” the officer said.