Four held for house-breaking in Pune

Pune, July 11 (UNI) A four-member gang was today arrested by the city Crime Branch sleuths for their alleged involvement in over 200 house-breaking cases and gold ornaments worth Rs 48 lakh seized from them.

Talking to reporters here, Police Commissioner Jayant Umranikar said gang kingpin Ravigopal Shetty, and his three accomplices belonged to the same family and that had no previous criminal record.

''Shetty had unleashed a reign of terror in the city since the past two years and the police had formed committees with the involvement of citizens to curb incidence of house breaks,'' he said.

Their arrest is a ''great achievement'' for Pune police as it is very difficult to nab such people, who do not have any criminal background, Mr Umranikar said.

The four-member gang has confessed to their alleged involvement in about 300 cases. More recovery is possible after custodial interogation of the accused, he said.

Umranikar also announced a reward of Rs 15,000 to the crime branch team.

UNI