7 arrested for petrol pump heist

The policemen who carried out the operation have been rewarded with cash prizes. On basis of a tip-off received by Satish Govekar,inspector with crime branch,a trap was laid down in front of Om Jewelers in Bharatnagar area of Dighi. The operation finished around 12.30 am. Besides Govekar,Inspector Ram Jadhav of the anti-dacoity cell,PSI Majid Shaijh,constables Iqbal Shaikh,Sanjay Memane,Santosh Jagtap,Satish Kamble and Satish Shinde were also part of the operation.

The ambulance that was used by the seven for the petrol pump strike was also seized. Sharp weapons,two big-sized choppers,a sword,a gupti,a dagger and five scissor blades have been recovered. The arrested have been identified as Veermangal Singh alias Don Singh Dudhani (31,resident of Ambarnath, Thane),Ramsingh Pratapsingh Tak (42,Jamnagar,Gujarat),Santosh Bansode (25,Dhonewadi,Ambarnath),Yogesh Yadav (22,Dhonewadi,Ambarnath),Dashrath Burbade (24,Dhonewadi,Ambarnath),Nihalsingh Patwa (25,Igatputi,Nashik) and Sangramsingh Bhada (25,Adarshnagar,Dighi,Pune).

“All these men have several serious offences registered against them. While there are over 20 known crimes including murders,robberies and dacoities against Veermangal Singh,the actual number can be more. Our investigation and interrogations are on,” a Crime Branch officer said.

Anant Shinde,additional commissioner of police,crime,and Prabhakar Patil,assistant commissioner of police,crime,unit-I congratulated the team for their efforts at a news conference. PI Ram Jadhav,an officer who was part of the operation,said,“It would not have been possible for us to carry out the operation successfully. The cost of weapons and ambulance recovered from these criminals is over Rs 1 lakh. The ambulance,registered in the name of one Bhanudas Shelar,was allegedly stolen by the gang in the past.”