Pune: Eleven men from Malegaon in Nashik district were arrested for allegedly stealing cellphones from devotees during the Ganapati immersion procession on Friday and Saturday in Pune. Shivajinagar police recovered a sedan and 63 cellphones worth Rs 30.57 lakh from them.A team headed by deputy commissioner of police (Zone I) Krushikesh Rawale, senior inspector Girish Dhigavkar and inspector Amar Kalange arrested them from a spot off JM Road.Dhigavkar said, “Some of the arrested have cases of thefts registered against them with the Malegaon, Nashik and other police units. They came to Pune via car and bus to steal cellphones from devotees visiting the immersion procession, taking advantage of the crowd.”A large number of cellphones were reported stolen from JM Road, FC Road, PMC headquarters area, Laxmi Road, and other places. “Barring one who is a casual worker, the rest are members of a syndicate,” Dhigavkar said.The arrested suspects have been identified as Abdul Qadir Noor Mohammad (28), Abdul Malik Abdul Khaliq (22), Zia-ul Rehman Shaukat Hussain (26), Mohammad Aswad Mohammad Ajmal (31), Faisal Aziz Khan (24), Huzeifa Anjum Mohammad Sajid (30), Zubair Ahmed Mukhtar Ahmed (35), Azhar Ahmed Altaf Ahmed Momin (30), Naved Akhtar Shafiq Ahmed Ansari (33), Athar Ahmed Ejaz Ahmed (23), all residents of Malegaon, Nashik district, and Atul Maruti Ingle 24, a resident of Giroli in Washim district.
