Hubballi: The Hubballi Rural Police have successfully solved a mobile hydraulic crane theft case that was reported on April 27 (Sunday), by arresting one accused and recovering the stolen vehicle.
According to the police, the accused — Saifulla Kamalsaheb Mulla, a resident of Nandagad in Khanapur taluk of Belagavi district — had stolen the crane, which was parked near Bank Circle in the Tarihal Industrial Area on Sunday night. The crane belonged to Raghunath Suresh Kadam, a resident of Ajagaon in Haliyal taluk.
Following the registration of the FIR, the police immediately launched an investigation to trace the missing hydraulic crane. However, tracking the vehicle proved to be challenging, as the accused cleverly avoided main roads and highways to evade detection. Instead, he navigated through rural village roads.
A police team led by Inspector Murugesh Channannavar pursued the accused across a distance of nearly 220 kilometers. After an intense chase, the team managed to apprehend him near Yellapur in Uttara Kannada district and successfully recovered the crane which is worth Rs 14 lakh and weighs approximately 2,200 kilograms — within three days of the crime.
Superintendent of Police Dr. Gopal Byakod praised the efforts of Inspector Channannavar and his team, which included PSI M.D. Patil, the crime team members H.B. Aihole, Abrar Patil, Abdul Kakar, Channappa Balloli, Mahantesh Maddin, Girish Tippanavar, Tippanna Alur, as well as technical staff Arif Golandaj and Vittal Danganavar.
