
Police officers who cracked bank robbery, minor's rape murder in Pune get Union Home Minister's Medal
* In October 2021, a group of five armed men looted cash and gold worth Rs 2.3 crore at gunpoint from the Bank of Maharashtra in Pimperkhed village in Shirur taluka of Pune district. An FIR was lodged at the Shirur police station in Pune rural. A team led by the then police inspector Sureshkumar Raut (now posted at Latur as deputy superintendent of police) nabbed the five robbers. Cops recovered almost all the cash and gold robbed by the accused.
* In February 2021, a two-and-half-year-old girl was raped and murdered at a village in Pune district. An FIR was lodged against the accused under IPC sections 302, 376 and sections of the Prevention of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. A team led by assistant police inspector Manoj Pawar (now posted at Solapur rural) nabbed the accused, who was later awarded death sentence by the court.
* In June 2021, a gang of robbers attacked a 75-year-old doctor and his 68-year-old wife at their residence in Lonavala, while they were asleep in the midnight hours. The robbers tied the elderly couple, gagged them and looted cash and jewellery worth nearly Rs 66 lakh at knife-point from their house. An FIR was lodged at the Lonavala city police station in Pune rural. Within a week, a team led by inspector Dilip Pawar (now posted at Kolhapur) nabbed a gang of 20 and recovered the robbed valuables.
Police officers Sureshkumar Raut, Manoj Pawar and Dilip Pawar are among the 11 cops from Maharashtra who were awarded the Union Home Minister's Medal for Excellence in Investigation for the year 2022, at the hands of state's Director General of Police Rashmi Shukla, during a ceremony at the Centre for Police Research (CPR) in Pune, on Friday.
The other officers who got the Union Home Minister's Medal for Excellence in Investigation include Deputy Commissioner of Police Krishnakant Upadhyay, senior police inspector Pramod Toradmal, police inspector Deepshikha Ware of Mumbai police, Superintendent of Police Ashok Virkar of ATS, Mumbai, Deputy Superintendent of Police Ajit Patil of Solapur rural, assistant police inspector Rani Kale of State Intelligence Department (SID), Navi Mumbai, of Mumbai police, senior police inspector Jitendra Wankoti and police inspector Sameer Ahirrao of Vasai Virar.
State CID chief Sunil Ramanand, Commissioner of Pune City police Amitesh Kumar, Commissioner of Pimpri Chinchwad police Vinaykumar Choube, Additional Director General of Police (prisons) Suhas Warke, Special Inspector General of Police (CID) Rajendra Dahale, Special Inspector General of Police (Kolhapur) Sunil Fulari, Rajendra Dahale, Superintendent of Pune rural police Sandeep Singh Gill and other senior police officers were present on the occasion.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


New Indian Express
an hour ago
- New Indian Express
Orissa HC expresses shock over manual drain cleaning, orders CMC to use machines
CUTTACK: Expressing alarm over the practice of manual cleaning of drains by engaging labourers, the Orissa High Court has directed the Cuttack Municipal Corporation (CMC) to take immediate steps to shift to mechanised process and submit a report by July 31. 'This court expects that the inhuman methodology resorted to would be stopped immediately and efforts shall be made to undertake the drain cleaning activities by deploying technologically advanced drain cleaning machines,' the bench of Justices SK Sahoo and V Narasingh, which is dealing with PILs on civic issues in Cuttack city, said. The court took note of media reports on how labourers, even minor boys, are engaged in the daunting task of clearance of wastes, deposits and sewage from the storm water channels and big drains in the city. While they enter the drains without proper safety gear or safety measures, no CMC staff is monitoring the operations, thereby endangering the lives of the workers. The bench observed, 'Needless to say, ensuring the health and safety of labourers is crucial for productive outcome. This involves implementing measures to prevent work-related injuries, diseases and hazards. When the labourers are used to clean the big drains manually, it very often leads to hazardous conditions and can lead to injuries or fatalities due to toxic fumes and coming in contact with sharp objects like broken glasses, metals and spikes besides poisonous snakes in the water bodies.' Accordingly, the bench ordered the CMC to finalise a plan of action to streamline the cleaning process of the drains by adopting suitable machines and training of manpower and place it in the court during on the next date on July 7. The bench also directed CMC to make sure there is no violation of the provisions of Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act in their operations.


News18
an hour ago
- News18
'Wake-Up Call': Rs 16 Crore Smuggling Network Busted At Mumbai Airport, 2 Staffers Arrested
Last Updated: On June 22, officers of the Air Intelligence Unit arrested two airport staffers who were found smuggling 24KT gold dust — coated in wax and stuffed inside socks in uniform pockets. In back-to-back busts within just 48 hours, Mumbai Customs Zone III has exposed a dark underbelly of smuggling operations at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport — uncovering nearly Rs 16 crore worth of illegal drugs and gold. On June 21, acting on specific intelligence, two Indian nationals arriving from Bangkok were intercepted. A thorough baggage check revealed 11.881 kg of high-grade hydroponic marijuana, cleverly vacuum-sealed and hidden inside pillow covers in their trolley bags. With an illicit value of Rs 11.88 crore, the bust is among the city's biggest drug seizures this year. Both passengers were arrested under the NDPS Act, and investigations are underway to trace the international network they were working for. Just a day later, on June 22, officers of the Air Intelligence Unit arrested two airport staffers who were found smuggling 24KT gold dust — coated in wax and stuffed inside socks concealed in their uniform pockets. The seizure, weighing 4.44 kilograms and valued at Rs 4.24 crore, exposed a worrying trend of insider involvement in organised gold smuggling. The two individuals were booked under the Customs Act, 1962. Authorities are now widening their probe into possible collusion between internal staff and gold smuggling syndicates operating across international routes. These twin operations have shaken the airport's security grid and reinforced the urgency of tightening internal surveillance mechanisms. Customs officials said these seizures underscore a larger challenge — smugglers are not only getting creative with concealment but also infiltrating from within. 'This is a wake-up call. Whether it's narcotics in tourist luggage or gold in staff uniforms, our teams are alert and acting without hesitation," a senior Customs official told News18. Further investigations are in progress to map out the criminal networks behind both high-stakes operations. First Published:


Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
32 Nepal youngsters held captive in Uttarakhand rescued: Victims lured with job promises, forced into sales work; embassy, NGO, police bust human trafficking racket
DEHRADUN: Thirty-two Nepali nationals, including three minors, were rescued on Thursday from a house in Udham Singh Nagar (US Nagar) district, where they were allegedly held captive for around four months after being lured to India with promises of lucrative jobs. The joint operation was conducted by the Nepal embassy, Uttarakhand Police, and NGO, KIN India. Three men, including a Nepali citizen, Birendra Shahi, 21, have been arrested. In a post on X, the official handle of the Nepal embassy in India on Saturday said the rescued individuals will be repatriated after the legal process is completed. Efforts on to rescue 35 more Nepal nationals from Rudrapur US Nagar SSP Manikant Mishra told TOI on Sunday that police were alerted by an embassy official on Thursday. "Acting on the input, police along with the NGO representatives raided the house of Maharaj Singh in Kashipur, where 32 people, including three boys aged around 14-15, were found," Mishra said. He said that the victims were from poor families in Nepal and had been brought to India by Shahi on the promise of jobs. "He had taken Rs 10,000 to 30,000 from each of them. But once in Kashipur, he and his associates, Sachin Kumar, 28, of Ghazipur, and Manish Tiwari, 29, of Rudrapur, confined and assaulted them. They were forced to sell daily-use products for a Delhi-based firm, to which the collected money was transferred. " A case was registered against the trio on Thursday under multiple BNS sections, including 127(4) (wrongful confinement), 137(2) (kidnapping), and 111(2) (organised crime). All three were arrested on Friday and sent to jail after being produced in court. Naveen Joshi, a representative of KIN India, added that a second operation was underway on Sunday to rescue around 35 more Nepali nationals held in Rudrapur.