Belagavi: Malmaruti police station CPI BR Gaddekar has been awarded the President’s Medal on the occasion of Independence Day, recognising his distinguished service and achievements in crime detection. Gaddekar, who joined the police force as a PSI in 2005, has served in Mahalingapur, Ilkal and Malmaruti police stations and earned a reputation for solving serious crimes, including murder, robbery, dacoity, chain snatching, narcotics cases, cyber fraud and digital arrest scams.One of his major achievements was cracking 28 cases linked to the notorious Irani gang involved in serial chain-snatching incidents and seizing 1,049 grams of gold ornaments during the operation.During his tenure in the CCB, Gaddekar detected 59 house burglary cases and recovered 1,516 grams of gold and 3,308 grams of silver from the accused. He also foiled a plot by a gang that planned to free an underworld rowdy from Hindalga jail and recovered a pistol and live ammunition from the suspects.Gaddekar played a key role in combating cybercrime, helping freeze bank accounts of accused persons in 133 cyber financial fraud cases registered between 2020 and 2022 and facilitating the return of Rs 4.9 crore to victims.In a 2024 digital arrest fraud case, he tracked down and arrested the accused in Gujarat, froze Rs 1.11 crore and helped return Rs 30 lakh to victims.He was also instrumental in the 2025 operation that busted an international fraud call centre, leading to the arrest of 33 people accused of cheating senior citizens in the US in the name of digital arrest scams. Gaddekar also excelled in anti-narcotics operations, arresting nine accused in a case involving the seizure of 50.4 kg of ganja.Having investigated numerous cases that resulted in convictions, Gaddekar has received several cash rewards and commendations from the DG & IGP, ADGP and Police Commissioner. The President’s Medal is the latest addition to his long list of honours.
