Pune: Chakan Police Bust Serial Bike Theft Racket, Seize 15 Stolen Motorcycles Worth ₹8.25 Lakh Recovered
Pune: Chakan Police Bust Serial Bike Theft Racket, Seize 15 Stolen Motorcycles Worth ₹8.25 Lakh Recovered
Pune, On 9 August 2025, the Chakan Police’s Detection Branch conducted a decisive operation, recovering 15 stolen motorcycles worth approximately ₹8.25 lakh from a habitual thief, and solving 16 vehicle theft cases.
Due to the large industrial presence in the Chakan area, there had been a spike in motorcycle thefts by unidentified individuals. Acting on instructions from Pimpri Chinchwad Police Commissioner Vinaykumar Choube, DCP Bapu Bangar, and ACP Rajendrasinh Gaur, Senior PI Sanjay Solanke formed a special investigation team.
Led by API Prasanna Jarad and API Ganpat Dhyagude, the team examined 150–200 CCTV footage clips from theft locations and surrounding roads. The footage revealed a known offender, Ashok Madhukar Sonawane of Ralegan Therpal, Ahmednagar, in the act of stealing a motorcycle. He was traced and caught with one stolen bike, after which a thorough investigation and search of his premises led to the recovery of 15 stolen motorcycles in total.
Sonawane confessed to stealing motorcycles linked to three FIRs at Chakan Police Station and additional cases at Vadgaon Maval and Shikrapur. In all, 14 cases under Chakan PS and one each under Vadgaon Maval and Shikrapur PS — a total of 16 theft cases — have been cracked. The investigation is ongoing.
This operation was executed under the guidance of senior police officials, with active participation from Chakan Police staff.
