Frequent-fliers thieves’ crime trail grounded

Palanpur: For this duo, airports were merely transit points and crowded religious places their hunting grounds. On Saturday, the Banaskantha Local Crime Branch (LCB) investigating a series of break-ins from cars arrested two members of a four-member gang who also revealed their high-flying crime trail to cities like Kolkata and Delhi, and parts of Odisha.

The accused duo - Satish Indrekar and Nakul Tamaiche, both the residents of Ahmedabad.

“The duo would identify cars parked amid large gatherings near temples and religious spots, smash windows, steal cash and valuables, and quietly return home. Their call detail records and location details revealed the locations outside Gujarat. We were investigating a series of vehicle glass-breaking thefts across Danta and Vadgam,” said LCB inspector DM Rathod.

Between May 5 and 6, a series of vehicle glass-breaking thefts were reported from Danta, Palanpur Taluka and Vadgam police station jurisdictions, where motorcycle-borne thieves targeted parked cars and decamped with cash and valuables.

Police said both accused have extensive criminal histories involving robbery, vehicle glass-breaking, and theft cases registered across multiple police stations in Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Mehsana, Surat, and Kutch districts.

"Satish alone has 27 offences registered against them. They have been involved in thefts since 2010," Rathod told TOI.

Two other gang members - Paras Ghamande and Jayanti Didawala - are yet to be arrested.