A highly educated young man has been detained for planning and attempting to loot jewellery shops in Nashik using techniques he learned from YouTube videos. The 24-year-old suspect, Ankush Pardhi from Anjaneri-Mulegaon, used Google Maps to identify jewellery shops in the city and even staged a theft of an airgun from a shop to carry out his robbery plans.
Ankush, who holds a university degree and is currently in his second year of postgraduate studies, reportedly wanted to make quick money. To do so, he watched videos of jewellery shop robberies on YouTube. Realising that a firearm would intimidate shopkeepers, he also gathered information on local shops selling airguns. On Sunday, September 14, he visited a shop in Upnagar and snatched an airgun from the vendor.
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Using technical and traditional investigative methods, police officers Premchand Gangurde and Sanjay Potinde obtained vital information and informed Hemant Todkar. Under the guidance of Police Commissioner Kirankumar Chavan and Assistant Police Police Commissioner Sandeep Mitke, the team set a trap at Tapovan-Shivaji Nagar Chowpatty.
Ankush was apprehended on Monday, September 22, night with the airgun. Police have seized a laptop, a mobile phone, and an airgun from him. The Crime Branch Unit-2, led by Inspector Hemant Todkar and Sub-Inspectors Premchand Gangurde, Samadhan Hire, Yashwant Bendkoli, and Sanjay Potinde, examined 30 CCTV cameras in two directions from the targeted shop. The footage showed Ankush fleeing with the airgun. He did not use a two-wheeler, which made tracing him more challenging.
To purchase the airgun, Ankush needed an ID card. He used Al to create a fake Aadhaar card, attaching a blurred black-and-white photo of himself and providing false details such as name and date of birth. He showed a photocopy of this fake ID to complete the purchase, making it harder for police to trace him.