Burglar held from Thane for mobile shop break-in

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: A 37-year-old man from Kalyan in Thane district has been arrested by the police on charge of stealing mobile phones worth Rs27 lakh for a shop in Beed city.The accused, identified as Ramnivas Manju Gupta, was nabbed by a special team of the Beed local crime branch following a technical investigation and analysis of CCTV footage.Beed superintendent of police (SP) Navneet Kanwat said Gupta has over 50 cases registered against him in Maharashtra and Gujarat, primarily related to theft and house break-in. "He committed thefts alone especially at mobile stores across Maharashtra and Gujarat," said Kanwat.According to the police, the burglary in Beed took place between 3am and 3.50am on April 19, on the occasion of Akshay Tritaya, at Shri Sai Mobile Shop located on Subhash Road.The accused broke open the centre lock and shutter latch to gain entry into the shop and decamped with mobile phones worth over Rs27 lakh.Based on the complaint, Beed City police registered an FIR under sections 305(A) and 331(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. Parallel investigation was taken up by the LCB and that looked into the examination of CCTV footage from the spot and carried out technical analysis.During the probe, police received a tip-off from an informant indicating Gupta's involvement in the crime. After verifying his criminal record, which revealed an extensive history of similar offences, the SP directed formation of a special team to track him down.Accordingly, the team, comprising sub-inspector Sushant Sutale and personnel Somnath Gaikwad, Maruti Kamble, Arjun Yadav, Manoj Parjane, Ashfaq Sayyed and Atul Harale, conducted a search operation across Thane, Mumbai, Goa and Gujarat. "Acting on specific inputs, the accused was finally traced to Thane, where he was apprehended," said LCB inspector Shivaji Bantewad.During interrogation, Gupta confessed to committing the burglary and said he handed over the stolen mobile phones to a third person.