Pune: Thief Arrested for Robbing 16 Vehicles; Learned Techniques on YouTube

In a breakthrough in the vehicle theft cases in the Hinjewadi area of Pune the Pimpri-Chinchwad police have arrested a 21-year-old youth involved in 16 vehicle theft cases in Pune, Pimpri-Chinchwad and Satara and seized stolen two-wheeler worth Rs 8 lakh 90 thousand from the accused. Further investigations revealed that the accused Abhishek Mallapa Havlekar (age 21, resident of Chakan, Pune native of Sahupuri, Satara) had a dispute with his family and fled his house in Satara a few years back. Havlekar referred YouTube video and learned to start two two-wheelers without keys and also learned to break the handle lock of the two-wheeler and allegedly stole two-wheelers near highways to avoid getting captured on CCTV cameras.

As per the police, on August 09, 2024, two bikes were stolen from the Snehraj Apartment at Baner-Mahalunge Road in Pune and accordingly, a case was registered under section 302 (2) of the  Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) at the Hinjewadi Police Station. Accordingly, the investigation was carried out in the Crime Branch Unit 4.

The investigation team led by Senior Police Inspector Sandeep Sawant of the Crime Branch Unit 4 deployed three investigation teams including Police Sub Inspector Mayuresh Salunkhe, Police Sub Inspector Narayan Jadhav, Assistant Police Sub Inspector Sanjay Gaware and others investigated almost 70 to 80 CCTV footage. Further investigation and technical analysis revealed the identity of the juvenile accomplice of the accused.   

Accordingly, the police detained the minor accomplice which led to the arrest of the primary accused Abhishek Mallapa Havlekar from Pune on August 20. Further probe revealed Havlekar’s involvement in 16 bike theft cases registered at Hinjewadi, Wakad, Sanghvi, Pimpri, Chinchwad, Chaturshringi, Chandannagar, Bharti Vidyapeeth and Satara City police stations.

The police have recovered 18 stolen bikes of different make and models totalling Rs 8,90,000 from the accused. The accused is in police custody and further investigation is conducted by Police Sub Inspector Mayuresh Salunkhe of the Crime Branch Unit-04 of  Pimpri-Chinchwad Police.