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Mohali police bust interstate gang of auto lifters, 6 arrested
The Mohali CIA busted an interstate gang of auto lifters and arrested six persons and recovered 35 stolen vehicles, besides ₹4.8 lakh in cash from their possession. The gang stole a total of 52 vehicles, mostly cars, from Mohali in the past eight months.
In a major breakthrough, the Mohali CIA busted an interstate gang of vehicle lifters and arrested six persons and recovered 35 stolen vehicles, besides ₹4.8 lakh in cash from their possession.
Sandeep Kumar Garg, senior superintendent of police (SSP), Mohali, said the gang was operational in Mohali for the past eight months and was also active in Haryana, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh.
He said the gang stole a total of 52 vehicles, mostly cars, from Mohali in the past eight months. “While they kept a few vehicles, including cars and scooters for their personal use, a majority of the stolen vehicles were dismantled and either the spare parts were sold or its engine parts, chassis, batteries, windows, etc., were sold in scrap. With their arrest, we have recovered 31 vehicles stolen from Mohali.”
The CIA team led by SP Amandeep Singh Brar, DSP Gursher Sandhu and inspector Shiv Kumar managed to recover eight cars which were yet to be dismantled along with eight scooters.
The accused were identified as Inderpreet Singh, 30, alias Prince of Rayiawala village, Fazilka, Gurwinder Singh, alias Guri, 31, of Guru Teg Bahadur Nagar, Kharar, Parwinder Singh, alias Pindu, 22 of Kamrawali village, Fazilka, Rajesh Kumar, alias Rinku, 30, of Johal Colony, Fazilka, Sukhraj Singh, alias Sukha, 27, a native of Thatha village, Tarn Taran, but currently residing in Zirakpur, and Jaspal Singh, alias Jassa, 27, of Zirakpur.
The police said four of the six accused have criminal cases registered against them, including Arms Act, NDPS Act and theft cases.
The modus operandi
The SSP said the gang used to target cars which were old and their locks could be opened easily. “Prince, Gurwinder, Sukhraj, Jaspal and Parwinder used to do recce of the cars to be stolen. They targeted cars like Maruti, Zen, Alto, Honda City, etc., which they could open easily with duplicate keys and used to sell these vehicles to scrap dealers for ₹17,000 to ₹20,000. Inderpreet, who was the kingpin of the gang, used to drive a cab in the tricity and was residing in Zirakpur. The gang used to sell the stolen cars to scrap dealer Rajesh through middleman Pindu,” the SSP added.
He said the gang had stolen 35 cars, adding that the gang was traced with the help of CCTV cameras installed in the district.
