Pune: A burglar broke into a bungalow on Karve Road by bending the window grills and stole gold and diamond jewelry worth ₹13.84 lakh. The incident was discovered on the morning of July 8.

Within 48 hours, the Crime Branch's Unit I arrested a criminal-on-police-record and recovered stolen items worth ₹17.72 lakh.

The arrested individual has been identified as Allahbakhsh Mohammad Pirjade (35), a resident of Railway Embankment, Mangalwar Peth, Pune. An 84-year-old woman filed a complaint at the Deccan Police Station.

The police had registered a case under sections 331(3), 331(4), and 305(a) of the Indian Penal Code against the unknown thief.

Given the high-profile nature of the crime, senior officials instructed the police team to solve the case promptly, and two teams from Unit I were formed.

During the investigation, while reviewing CCTV footage, officers Nilesh Sable and Datta Sonawane identified Allahbakhsh Pirjade as the culprit based on his criminal record.

After tracking him down and detaining him, Pirjade confessed to entering the bungalow by climbing over the compound wall, bending the window grills with an iron pipe, and breaking into the cupboard with scissors to steal the jewelry and cash.

He revealed that he had hidden the stolen items under a stone near the steps of Shivajinagar Metro Station. The police recovered gold jewelry embedded with diamonds, weighing 200 grams, and cash, totaling ₹17.72 lakh.

The operation was conducted under the guidance of Additional Police Commissioner of Crime Shailesh Balkawade, Deputy Commissioner of Police Amol Zende, and Assistant Police Commissioner Ganesh Ingle.

The team included Senior Police Inspector Shabbir Syed, Assistant Police Inspector Ashish Kavathekar, and officers Nilesh Sable, Datta Sonawane, Shashikant Darekar, Abhinav Ladkat, Mahesh Bamgude, Anna Mane, Rahul Makhare, Ayaz Daddikar, Praful Shelar, and Rukhsana Nadaf.