PUNE: Two gang members, nabbed by the Chakan police during nakabandi operations, admitted to their involvement in robbing people by offering them lift in their car.With the admission of the duo, the police detected three recent cases of robberies in which the arrested men were involved.A police investigation revealed that the arrested suspect Vaibhav Raut (20), a resident of Chikhali village in Khed taluka, would pay his friend Rs20,000 per month to borrow his car and use it to execute robberies. The police have seized the car, sharp weapons, two cell phones as well as a debit card from Raut and his accomplice Avinash Shinde (24) of Khed taluka. Three other members of the robbery gang are on the run.Senior inspector Sunil Pawar said that on Sunday night during nakabandi operation at the Chakan industrial estate his team noticed a white car had stopped few meters away from the checkpoint. “As our team proceeded toward the car, the driver immediately took a U-turn and sped away from the spot,” Pawar said.Other police teams posted at different spots were immediately alerted and a car chase ensued. “After sometime sub-inspector Vijay Jagdale noticed the white coloured car going toward Induri village. Jagdale and his team began chasing the car,” Pawar said.In an attempt to avoid the police vehicle, the driver of the car lost control of the vehicle and it crashed into a wall. “Five men jumped out of the car and started running away. Our team nabbed Raut and Shinde after a hot chase,” Pawar said.“During questioning, Raut and Shinde revealed that they were preparing to rob cash from a petrol pump at Nighoje village near Chakan,” Pawar said.The suspect Raut has allegedly admitted that the gang had robbed several people by offering them a lift in their car. “In fact, Raut had taken his friend’s car on rent so that he could give lift to people and subsequently rob them,” Pawar said.The officer added that, on October 31, the suspects robbed 24-year-old Mukesh Govind Rathod and his wife of valuables worth Rs98,000 after giving them a lift from Mahalunge to Chakan in the car. They had threatened Rathod, with sharp weapons. They had also blindfolded Rathod and forced him to sit under the seat before snatching gold ornaments worth Rs90,000 and a cell phone collectively worth Rs98,000. “The gang had been operating largely in the Chakan area. Before targeting Rathod, they had robbed one Bipinkumar Dubey and Jitenda Dohare using the same modus,” Pawar said.The police suspect that gang’s involvement in other lift robbery cases as well. “Our investigation is underway,” Pawar said.

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