PUNE: Sanjay Gijare , a 45-year-old Dhankawdi resident, had developed a very clever method to steal LPG cylinders. In the last three months, he had stolen 27 cylinders, and his accomplice in the crime was a 16-year-old girl. To avoid detection, Gijare used a two-wheeler that had a temporary registration plate. But his luck finally ran out on September 13.Sub-inspector KK Kamble, of the Uttamnagar police, and his team were out on a patrol on September 13, when they noticed a man riding a two-wheeler with one LPG cylinder balanced between his legs. A teenaged girl, who was the pillion rider, was carrying another cylinder. “We got suspicious as the scooter had a temporary registration number. Moreover, on September 10, we had received a complaint pertaining to the theft of two LPG cylinders from the Shivane area. We even had CCTV footage with us,” Kamble said.The cops stopped the man and asked him to furnish the vehicle registration documents. “The CCTV footage had confirmed the duo’s involvement in a cylinder theft case. We called the minor girl’s mother and sent her home. She is a Class XII student,” Kamble said.During questioning, Gijare admitted that he had stolen two cylinders from a parked truck in Shivane. “After obtaining Gijare’s custody remand, we subjected him to sustained interrogation. He later accepted that he had stolen 27 cylinders,” he said.Gijare had given the stolen cylinders to some delivery men of different LPG agencies. He asked the delivery men to sell the cylinders in return for handsome commissions. “Gijare had told them that he had bagged a contract from the PMC anti-encroachment squad for selling confiscated cylinders,” Kamble said, and added, “We have seized all the cylinders.”Gijare was running a vada pav stall at Sadashiv Peth. However, he had to borrow money. He started stealing to return the money. Gijare was earlier arrested in 2015 by the Chinchwad police for a similar offence,” he said. The police team detected five cases, including two registered with Warje Malwadi police and one each with Kothrud, Uttamnagar and Yerawada police.

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