Police had also found out that 95 per cent of these minor accused had no criminal records prior to the particular vehicle vandalism cases they were booked for. (Source: File)Pune city police have arrested two youths aged 19 and 21 and detained three minors aged 16 and 17 in connection to an incident in which a group of miscreants had gone on rampage in Dhankawadi area of Pune in the early hours of Wednesday brandishing weapons and damaging 25 vehicles vehicles including school vans.The incident had taken place between 1 am and 1.30 am on Wednesday at three locations in Dhankawadi including Keshav Complex, Sarasvati Chowk and Navnath Nagar. The probe had revealed suspects who vandalised and damaged vehicles with weapons they had. They allegedly damaged at least 25 vehicles at three locations which are within 500 meters of each other. The group ended up with vehicles including 15 auto rickshaws, three cars, two school vans, a tempo and some bikes.A team from the detection branch of the Sahakar Nagar police station received crucial input that a history sheeter identified as Rohit Adhav was involved in the crime. A team received a tip off that Adhav was coming to the Navale Bridge area. A trap was laid and Rohit Adhav (21), a resident of Kirkatwadi was arrested along with his accomplice Sudhir Bappu Sawant (19), a resident of Goravi Vasti in Nanded City area. Questioning of the arrested duo gave police the names of their minor accomplices. The three minors — one aged 16 and two aged 17 — were detained.“Investigation has revealed that the group went on rampage over a petty dispute with their friend living in the area. The two arrested accused have been remanded to police custody and three minors have been remanded to observation home.” said Senior Inspector Vitthal Pawar of Sahakarnagar.In a worrying pattern in the case of vehicle vandalism in the city, the year 2024 witnessed a sharp rise in these cases. From 35 cases in 2022 and 53 in 2023, the number cases of vehicle vandalism by local gangs had jumped to 89 in 2024. This had prompted the Crime Branch to conduct a thorough data based analysis of these cases.One of the first results of the study was identification of key hotpots for the cases of vehicle vandalism. Police identified that of the 89 cases reported in 2024, majority cases came from Sahakar Nagar, Parvati, Yerawada, Hadapsar, Kondhwa and Wanawadi police jurisdictions. Of the total of 156 accused identified in 89 cases of 2024, 52 were minors, accounting for a third of the total perpetrators.Police had also found out that 95 per cent of these minor accused had no criminal records prior to the particular vehicle vandalism cases they were booked for. Further, of all other adult accused, only 25 per cent had prior criminal records. Police had initiated a string of policing and sensitisation efforts in these areas in response to the outcomes of the study. The police had intensified the action against these miscreants under the Maharashtra Prevention of Dangerous Activities of Slumlords, Bootleggers, Drug Offenders and Dangerous Persons Act, 1981 also known as MPDA or Gunda Act.Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd