Residents catch thief red-handed

CP felicitates alert citizens from Chinchwad

It was just not one of his lucky days as Amol aka Pangya Ashok Gaikwad, who had broken into a house in Chinchwad on Tuesday, was caught red-handed by a bunch of alert citizens. They ensured that Gaikwad was put behind bars.u00a0u00a0


Well deserved: CP Meeran Borwankar awarding alert residents.

Around 12 pm, Gaikwad (20), a resident of Nagsen Nagar in Chinchwad broke into the house of Tanaji Shrinivas Patil (39) by breaking the lock using an iron pipe.

A few minutes later, when Patil arrived, he saw that the lock was broken and suspected the house was being robbed. He then summoned help from his neighbours, Santosh Sopan Bhapkar (32) and Gorakshnath Vithal Bade (40) and caught Gaikwad while he was just about to escape. Patil owns a building material supply business.u00a0

Police Sub-Inspector HB Jadhav of Chinchwad Police Station, the investigating officer in the case, said that Gaikwad was on the verge of escaping when the trio entered the house. "We had just reached the spot when they caught the accused. We took him into custody and he is now in the lock-up. He has been charged with robbery and trespassing," said Jadhav.

Tanaji Patil, said: "As I entered the house after seeing the broken lock, I heard sounds emitting from the house when I shouted who is there. The thief then tried to escape from the back door. But luckily for me, the back door would not open, so he hid below the cooking slab in the kitchen. I called my two neighbours and the three of us caught him."u00a0u00a0

Santosh Bhapkar said the thief claimed he had an accomplice who had escaped by then. "We did not see him so we can't verify." Bhapkar however expressed happiness over being felicitated by the Commissioner of Police Meeran Borwankar. Bhapkar runs a steel business in Chinchwad.u00a0