Gang of 5 held, copper wire worth Rs 75L recovered

PUNE: The crime branch of the Pune police on Saturday nabbed a gang of five men in Kharadi who had robbed copper wires worth Rs 75 lakh from a company in Ranjangaon MIDC, about 50km from the city, on August 12.The anti-organized crime cell (North) led by senior inspector Milind Gaikwad arrested Jalindar Saste (45) of Purandar, Anand Murugan (24) and Mustapha Nadab (32) both of Chandannagar, Khwaja Shaikh (30) of Tadiwala road and Suresh Birajdar (30) of Yerawada. The police have recovered the truck laden with the stolen copper wire, a van and two motorcycles, together worth Rs 80 lakh.Gaikwad said that constable Buva Kamble had received a tip-off that a gang is planning to sell stolen copper wires in Kharadi area. “We laid a trap and nabbed the gang,” he said. During interrogation, the suspects admitted that they had stolen the copper from a company in Ranjangaon MIDC. “The five suspects along with four other accomplices had forced inside the company and had thrashed two watchmen and a tea stall owner near the company with sharp weapons. They had tied their limbs and had dumped them inside a bathroom,” Gaikwad said.He said that the suspects then had robbed the copper from the premises of the company and loaded it in a truck. “They also robbed a van parked outside the company and fled,” Gaikwad said adding, “A case of robbery has been registered with the Ranjangaon police station.”