Three youngsters arrested for theft

Kolhapur: The Rajarampuri police have arrested a gang of three youngsters on their way to break into an ATM at Dasara chowk on Monday. Police also seized valuables worth Rs 2 lakh from them.
The arrested have been identified as Akshay Ashok Shinde (20), a resident of Kudal in the Jawali taluka of Satara district, Laxmikant alias Sachin Itkarkar (20) from Dasara chowk in Kolhapur, who originally hails from Islampur in the Walva taluka of the Sangli district and Shubham Mahadev Pol (19), a resident of Nagaon in the Walva taluka.
Amrut Deshmukh, a police inspector, in-charge of the Rajarampuri police station, said, "We got a tip-off that a gang of three youths, who committed house break-ins at Satara and Karad, have initiated operations in Kolhapur. We were told that they are on their way to break into an ATM centre near Dasara chowk. Following this, we set a trap near the area. We nabbed Itkarkar who was suspiciously loitering in the area. During interrogation, he admitted that he and his two friends were planning to commit the crime. We arrested the two other youngsters, who were present nearby."
The PI said that the trio has so far admitted to committing two house break-ins in Karad and Satara. "On February 17, last year the trio had broken into a house belonging to one Sagar Sarjerao Kadam in Vidyanagar at Karad and looted valuables worth Rs 1.61 lakh. This included gold and silver ornaments and a cellphone. On November 24, 2014, the trio targeted a house belonging to one Pradeepkumar Ganpatrao Shinde and made away with gold jewellery worth Rs 65,000," he said.
Deshmukh said that the trio also told their friends in Islampur that they had sold the stolen valuables to their friends in Islampur. "They came in contact with each other, when they were studying in Islampur. All are students of standard XII. They were in the habit of spending money and leading a lavish lifestyle. They used to break into houses when they needed money. We have handed them over to the Karad police for further investigation," he said.
Deshmukh also said that upon investigation, they found that Shinde had stolen gold jewellery weighing 130g from his father's house. "Shinde's father is a doctor and when we contacted him, he told us that few days ago Akshay had stolen the jewellery from his own house. They were searching for his whereabouts," he said.