Pune: The Pimpri Chinchwad crime branch has arrested a vehicle thief on police records and recovered 40 stolen motorcycles worth Rs 21.66 lakh from him.The accused, Ashfaq Pathan (32) from Pathardi in Ahilyanagar district, used to travel to Pimpri Chinchwad and Pune by bus. After conducting a recce, he would steal a motorcycle using a master key and ride away with it.“Pathan used to keep the stolen motorcycles at a spot in Dighi. With the help of his accomplice, Mukund Hardas (25) of Jalna, he sold the stolen vehicles in rural parts of different districts,” said additional commissioner of police (crime) Sarang Awad.Awad said on March 2, Pathan stole a motorcycle from Nande in Mulshi taluka, following which a case was registered with the Bavdhan police.Senior inspector Arvind Pawar and his team checked footage from over 100 CCTV cameras and traced the accused to Pathardi.“Our teams laid a trap in Balewadi on March 7 and took Pathan into custody,” Awad said.During sustained questioning, Pathan admitted to stealing motorcycles from Pimpri Chinchwad, Pune city, Pune Rural, Jalna and Parbhani over the past two years.“He targeted a particular make of motorcycle as it offers good mileage and is easy to steal using a master key. We recovered five master keys from him,” Awad said.According to the police, the duo told customers that the motorcycles were seized by finance companies and sold them for Rs 20,000 to Rs 25,000 each. They would assure buyers that the registration documents would be provided later.“Pathan has 10 cases of vehicle theft registered against him with the Ahilyanagar police,” Awad added.
