Thane Police Arrest Burglar, Recover 1 kg Gold Linked to 48 Cases

Thane Crime Branch Unit-1 arrested Shivaji Gopal Sante, 31, from Patwa Chawl in Titwala East on March 2, recovering 1.03 kilograms of gold jewellery worth approximately ₹1.39 crore and linking him to 48 housebreaking cases spanning the Diva-Mumbra area from 2024 to early 2026.

Sante's method was deliberate and daytime. He targeted locked flats in sparsely occupied and under-construction buildings across Diva East and Mumbra, breaking window grills or forcing door latches to gain entry before residents returned. Gold ornaments were the consistent target across every case.

Catching him required sustained surveillance. A dedicated team led by Senior Police Inspector Sachin Gaikwad and PSI Deepak Ghuge combed CCTV footage from multiple crime scenes before spotting a pattern: a figure who moved in reverse directions through neighborhoods and switched between transport modes to stay off camera. Deputy Commissioner of Police (crime) Amarsinh Jadhav confirmed the technique was intentional. "The footage helped us identify a suspect who had visited the location on the day of the offence. We also found that he deliberately altered his travel routes to avoid being clearly captured on CCTV cameras," Jadhav said. The investigation ran for approximately 11 to 15 days before police traced him to Titwala, with Hindustan Times reporting 11 days of surveillance and Free Press Journal citing a 15-day probe.

Sante was not unknown to police. Records show similar offences registered against him at Kalyan Taluka Police Station between 2017 and 2022, with additional prior cases at Central Police Station, Ulhasnagar. Free Press Journal and Mid-Day both reported that Sante confessed to all 48 housebreaking crimes; Hindustan Times presented a more cautious account, noting interrogation confirmed involvement in at least four Mumbra cases and that police were still examining links to the remaining registered thefts.

The 1.03 kilograms of recovered gold represents pieces pulled from dozens of separate households, each entry a targeted decision made in the middle of the working day. Whether courts ultimately connect Sante to all 48 cases, the arrest has at minimum cleared a years-long backlog of open housebreaking files at Mumbra Police Station and put a name to a pattern of losses that families across the Diva-Mumbra corridor had been absorbing since at least 2024.