Nagpur: In a major breakthrough amid rising incidents of vehicle theft across the city, the Nagpur Crime Branch Unit-1 has busted an organised vehicle theft gang operating from Lakhandur-Lakhani region of Bhandara district and recovered 14 stolen vehicles collectively worth more than Rs 13 lakh.
The meticulously planned and highly confidential operation exposed a well-organised network of habitual vehicle thieves who had allegedly been targeting multiple areas of Nagpur city before secretly transporting the stolen vehicles to Lakhani.
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According to police sources, the operation was launched after Crime Branch officials received specific intelligence from a trusted informer indicating that a key accused involved in several vehicle theft cases, identified as Piyush Jagnade, was hiding in his native village in Lakhani.
Acting swiftly on the input, senior officers of Crime Branch Unit-1 formed a special team and secretly moved towards Bhandara late at night to prevent the accused from escaping.
Officials said the team carried out extensive surveillance and reconnaissance in the area with extreme caution to ensure that the suspects did not get any hint of the police movement.
After hours of tracking, the Crime Branch team successfully apprehended accused Piyush Ravindra Jagnade while he was allegedly riding a white Honda Activa without a registration number plate.
During sustained interrogation, the accused reportedly broke down and revealed the names of his accomplices, Anshul Sarjare and Deep Ramteke.
Police subsequently detained both suspects and launched a deeper investigation into the theft network.
What emerged during questioning stunned even investigators.
Police recovered a total of 14 stolen vehicles from the possession of the accused, including three Royal Enfield Bullet motorcycles, eight Honda Activa scooters, a Pulsar 220, a Honda Unicorn and a Honda Passion Pro. Two mobile phones were also seized during the operation.
According to police estimates, the recovered vehicles are collectively valued at around Rs 13.20 lakh, while the total seized property, including mobile phones, is worth approximately Rs 13.55 lakh.
Investigators have linked the recovered vehicles to multiple theft cases registered across several police station jurisdictions in Nagpur, including Bajaj Nagar, MIDC, Pratap Nagar, Hudkeshwar, Sonegaon, Khaparkheda and Bori police station areas.
The operation has drawn widespread appreciation within police circles for its precision, secrecy and technical coordination.
Officials said the accused were arrested without alerting the gang, allowing investigators to dismantle a significant portion of the theft network in a single overnight operation.
The action was carried out under the guidance of Ravinder Singal, Navinchandra Reddy, Vasant Pardeshi and Rahul Makhnikar.
The operation was led by Police Inspectors Dnyaneshwar Bhedodkar, Sachin Bhonde and Rajabhau Jadhav along with officers and personnel of Crime Branch Unit-1.
Police sources particularly praised the role of Police Havaldar Manoj Tekam and his team for gathering crucial intelligence and helping execute the operation successfully.
The crackdown has brought major relief to Nagpur residents who had been increasingly worried over the growing number of vehicle thefts in the city. Police officials said further investigation is underway to determine whether the gang was linked to additional theft cases or interstate vehicle smuggling operations.
