Nanded: Six-month-old theft case detected; 160g gold jewellery worth Rs 24 lakh recovered from two women; two aides on the run

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: The Bhagyanagar police in Nanded have cracked a six-month-old gold theft case, arresting two women and recovering 160g of stolen gold jewellery worth around Rs 24 lakh. The police said two other members of the gang are absconding and efforts are on to recover the remaining 120g of jewellery.The theft occurred on Dec 22, 2025, when a woman travelling in a shared autorickshaw was allegedly targeted by a gang of four women. The accused, posing as co-passengers, allegedly distracted the victim through conversation and stole a bag containing 280g of gold jewellery.Nanded SP Nilabh Rohan described it as a significant detection. “Our teams are working to nab the other two accused, as it appears that this gang is involved in series of similar crimes in different parts of Maharashtra,” he said.The police said the victim lodged a complaint immediately after the incident, but investigators initially verified her claim of carrying 280g of gold in a shared autorickshaw before registering an FIR. CCTV footage analysis led the police to four women matching the complainant’s description, following which a case was registered under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.The breakthrough came when the Bhagyanagar police’s crime detection team, led by sub-inspector Vinod Deshmukh, received a tip-off about suspicious women in the Srinagar area.

The suspects were detained and linked to the crime through CCTV footage and technical evidence.Inspector Santosh Tambe identified the arrested accused as Laxmi Ganeshrao Sakhare alias Manju Reddy (46) and Pooja Sonu alias Lakkappa Sakhare (26), both currently residing in Chikalthana, Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar.Police said the accused confessed during interrogation, leading to the recovery of the stolen ornaments. Preliminary investigations revealed that the gang members are natives of Madhya Pradesh and had recently shifted to Maharashtra.