Duo that stole SUVs’ spare wheels lands in Chandigarh Police net

A total of 15 spare wheels (tyres with alloy) of Mahindra Thar cars were recovered from them; a stolen Maruti Suziki Eeco car used in the thefts was also impounded

The crime branch of Chandigarh Police has nabbed two men, both aged less than 22, who had been stealing the spare wheels of SUVs cars parked around the tricity.

The accused, both aged less than 22, were arrested by the crime branch of Chandigarh Police who constituted a special team to nab the accused following a spate spare wheel thefts in the city. (HT Photo)

A total of 15 spare wheels (tyres with alloy) of Mahindra Thar cars were recovered from them. A stolen Maruti Suziki Eeco car used in the thefts was also impounded.

With the arrest of the duo, police have solved seven cases of such thefts registered in different police stations in the city.

The accused have been identified as Pawan Kumar, 19, of Bhiwani, Haryana, currently residing in Burail, Chandigarh, and Subham Arora, 22, of Kharar and currently a resident of Sector 47, Chandigarh.

While Pawan is pursuing graduation and is a first-year student, Subham dropped out of college in the second year after he was arrested in a car theft case registered at the Sector 49 police station on August 31, 2022.

“As there had been multiple complaints of spare wheel thefts from different parts of the city recently, the crime branch constituted a special team, led by inspector Ashok Kumar, under the supervision of SP Ketan Bansal, that apprehended the two thieves, solving seven such cases,” said an official of the crime branch.

Pawan was the first to be arrested from Sector 45, following secret information that he was going to sell the stolen spare wheels in Burail. Police recovered two wheels from him then.

Following his disclosure, police nabbed Subham from Sector 48, while he was on his way to sell the spare wheels in an Eeco car, which was stolen by him and used in the wheel thefts. Police initially recovered four spare wheels from Shubham and nine more later after his confession.

Police said Subham, a drug addict, was the mastermind of these thefts. “He was previously arrested in a car theft case and recently came out of Model Jail. In order to buy drugs, he started stealing the spare wheels of SUVs from different parts of Chandigarh, Mohali and Kharar,” an officer said.

The accused were presented in a court that sent Pawan to judicial custody and Subham to police custody.