Car theft suspects arrested after late-night chase in Vivek Vihar

A Seltos, stolen four months ago from west Delhi, was spotted near the Vivek Vihar ITI underpass on several nights over the past month

A 56-year-old man and his two associates, allegedly involved in over 46 cases of vehicle theft in and around Delhi, were arrested after a late-night chase in Delhi’s Vivek Vihar area on Thursday, senior officers said on Friday.

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The accused, who were travelling in a Kia Seltos, in their attempt to flee from police, rammed into vehicles, hit a road divider and also ran over two policemen — a head constable and a constable — leaving them injured.

The arrested men were identified as Mashrur (56), who was driving the Seltos, and his associates Asif (42) and Aqeel (40). Police said Mashrur has more than 17 cases against him, while Aqeel has 27 cases.

According to police, a team from west Delhi was tracking the accused, who were involved in a spate of car thefts in recent months. A Seltos, stolen four months ago from west Delhi, was spotted near the Vivek Vihar ITI underpass on several nights over the past month.

Darade Sharad Bhaskar, DCP (West), said the vehicle was also found to have been used in thefts of other cars, including Fortuners and Hyundai Cretas, from the area.

“The vehicle was being operated with a fake or duplicate number plate to evade police. Based on our inputs, a team was stationed near the underpass on Thursday night. Around 11 pm, the accused were spotted,” Bhaskar said.

Police said as the team moved towards the Seltos, the accused first rammed into two vehicles and then hit police personnel who were trying to block the SUV. A video of the incident shows policemen hitting the car as the accused took a turn and ran over two of them, who were standing on the road divider. The car also hit the divider. Policemen are seen trying to break the window to stop the accused.

Bhaskar said head constable Devender and constable Manish were hit and thrown towards the footpath, sustaining injuries. The team eventually managed to overpower the accused after stopping the car.

The injured policemen were taken to GTB Hospital for treatment and are stated to be stable.