Pune, 11 March 2026: Police have arrested a habitual auto rickshaw thief who allegedly used number plates from scrap rickshaws to operate stolen vehicles across the city. The Kalepadal Police seized six stolen rickshaws worth ₹10.78 lakh from the accused after an extensive investigation involving CCTV surveillance.
The arrested accused has been identified as Shadab Yusuf Ansari (25), a resident of Sayyed Nagar on Mohammadwadi Road in Hadapsar.
Police launched the investigation following a series of auto rickshaw thefts reported in the Kalepadal police station limits. Officers analysed footage from 102 CCTV cameras installed in areas where the vehicles had been stolen. During the probe, a tip-off received by police constable Mahadev Shinde led the team to the Undri area, where a trap was set.
Police detained Ansari while he was sitting inside a parked rickshaw. During questioning, he confessed that he had been stealing rickshaws and using number plates from scrap vehicles to avoid suspicion while using them on the roads.
The investigation revealed that the accused was involved in five theft cases registered at Kalepadal, Chandan Nagar, Ambegaon, Sant Tukaram Nagar and Wanowrie police stations.
The operation was carried out under the guidance of Deputy Commissioner of Police Dr Rajkumar Shinde and Assistant Commissioner Atulkumar Navgire. Senior Police Inspector Mansingh Patil, Assistant Inspector Amit Shete, and their team executed the arrest and recovery operation.
