Gang steals 20 cars in one month to pay for leader’s chemotherapy in Delhi: Cops

The suspects told police they had to arrange around ₹10 lakh for the chemotherapy and blood marrow transplant of their gang leader, who was admitted to the ICU of a private hospital

To bear the medical expenses of their gang leader, who is undergoing treatment for blood cancer at a private hospital in west Delhi, four members of a gang stole vehicles cars from Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR), dismantled them at a godown in outer Delhi, and sold the parts in scrap markets, police said on Sunday, adding that all four have been arrested.

Police said in the last one month, the gang members stole and dismantled at least 20 vehicles, including sports utility vehicles (SUVs), and sold their parts as scrap. (HT Photo)

Police said in the last one month, the gang members stole and dismantled at least 20 vehicles, including sports utility vehicles (SUVs), and sold their parts as scrap. They were caught red-handed 10 days ago by the anti-auto theft squad (AATS) of southwest district while they were stealing and dismantling more vehicles. They disclosed that they had to arrange around ₹10 lakh for the chemotherapy and blood marrow transplant of their gang leader, who was admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU)-cum-bone marrow transplant unit of a private hospital, senior police officers aware of the operation said.

“We recovered over 50 dismantled parts of many stolen vehicles, including a Toyota Fortuner and Innova, from a godown managed by 36-year-old Lucky, the cousin of the gangs leader, Ashish alias Ashu, 29. They had increased the frequency of stealing and dismantling vehicles for parts in recent weeks for funding the medical expenses of Ashish, who was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (blood cancer) around six years ago and is undergoing treatment in the hospital since December 17, 2022,” said deputy commissioner of police (southwest) Manoj C, adding that Ashish was not previously arrested in any case.

The police added that Ashish has not been arrested in connection with the case because he is fighting for his life in the hospital. Apart from Lucky, the other three arrested men were identified as Safeeq (single name), 21, Majim Ali, 25, and Ram Sanjeevan,62.

Police said that while Ali was previously involved in dismantling stolen cars, Ashish was involved in other crimes such as liquor trafficking in Haryana. “Although we have not been able to interrogate Ashish and ascertain his involvement in crimes in Delhi, the interrogation of others revealed that he had purchased the godown in November for the purpose of dismantling stolen cars and selling their parts as scrap. Lucky was managing the business while Ashish was admitted,” said an investigator.

DCP Manoj said they caught the gang after investigating a vehicle theft reported at South Campus police station on January 8. The complainant, Swapan Roy, said that his Toyota Innova Crysta car was stolen from Anand Niketan area in South Campus. A case of vehicle theft was registered and AATS members were roped in to identify and nab the auto-lifters.

The team members scanned footage from CCTV cameras installed around the spot from where the Innova was stolen and on the routes that the suspects took after the crime. After scanning over 200 cameras, the team reached Alipur, almost 40km away from the crime spot. Manual intelligence led the team members to the godown in Mukhmelpur village in Alipur. The godown was raided and the four men were arrested on January 18 while they were dismantling a stolen Hyundai Creta car, said the DCP.

“The Creta had been stolen on January 1 from the Rajouri Garden area. Dismantled parts of over 50 vehicles, including the stolen Innova, were found in the godown,” added DCP Manoj.

Police said that interrogation of the arrested people revealed that some more people were part of the gang. Some of them have been identified and raids are on to nab them. However, they are still at large, they said.