PUNE: The Sahakarnagar police on Friday arrested a 23-year-old man on the charge of robbing an accident victim of his smartphone on the pretext of helping him.
The incident took place on June 10 when Sagar Navghane (31), a resident of Dhankawdi, met with an accident near Swami Vivekananda statue, on the Pune-Satara Road.
“Navghane, a PMPML driver by profession, was riding his motorcycle home when his bike skid because the road had become slippery due to heavy rainfall,” said sub-inspector Sudhir Ghadge on Saturday.
According to Ghadge, the suspect, identified as Ishwar Bhadakwad, rushed to the spot on the pretext of helping Navghane. “Instead, Bhadakwad snatched Navghane’s smartphone and Rs15,000 in cash and fled. Navghane did not register a complaint at that time,” said Ghadge.
A crime branch official, who did not wish to be named, said Navghane had visited the Sahakarnagar police soon after the incident to register an FIR. “The police took his cellphone number but did not take serious note of his complaint. He then decided not to keep making rounds of the police station,” said the official.
The crime branch official further said that Navghane’s phone could not be traced as the thief had switched it off; the phone number, however, had not been blocked. “We are investigating online complaints relating to missing mobile phones. We tried to trace Navghane’s phone on numerous occasions but in vain,” said the police official.
According to the police official, Bhadakwad switched on the phone on Friday and the police were able to trace his location and arrest him. “During questioning, Bhadakwad admitted to robbing the phone of an accident victim. We then traced Navghane’s residential address and called him for questioning. He identified his phone and the suspect,” said the crime branch official.
Navghane’s complaint was registered under Section 392 (robbery) of the Indian Penal Code. “We recorded his complaint and transferred it to the Sahakarnagar police,” the official added. Navghane was not available for comment when TOI reached him on the phone.
