Mumbai: Meet the thieves who took Bullets in Ganpati's name

One of the bikes that was recovered

Just a day after mid-day highlighted how outstation thieves were making their way to Mumbai to steal from unsuspecting devotees in the festive season, the Tardeo police have arrested two crooks from Gujarat who stole bikes from south Mumbai. The arrested accused had assumed that the cops would be too busy with bandobast duty to catch them.

The crooks - Arjun Luhana, 19, and Vishal Gautam, 21 - struck a week before the festivities began. On September 7, two Bullets were stolen from the jurisdiction of the Tardeo police station. "We registered an offence under IPC Section 379 and informed all the police stations, as well as neighbouring states, about the case," said an officer with Tardeo police. On Monday, the cops were contacted by the Local Crime branch of Vapi, Gujarat, stating that they had arrested two suspects with a Bullet that was stolen from Tardeo.

Vishal Gautam

"We suspect this is the work of a gang or syndicate," said an officer from Tardeo police station. The Vapi cops handed over the accused to the Tardeo police. "During initial investigation, they revealed that five of them had come to Mumbai from Gujarat to strike ahead of the festival. Two of them went on hunting for bikes to steal, and they found two Bullets," said Sanjay Surve, senior inspector at Tardeo police station. "We are investigating the whereabouts of their accomplices and are trying to probe whether they have stolen more bikes," he added.

Also Read: From Mount Mary to Lalbaug, thieves make a killing in festival crowd

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