Pothole mishap leads to 23-year-old history-sheeter who stole 17 vehicles for joyrides

On September 4, the police received a complaint about a silver Wagon R which was stolen from Nalasopara. “On checking the CCTV footage of the nearby areas, the vehicle was found abandoned at Sriram Nagar in Nalasopara East. The vehicle’s front portion was damaged, suggesting that it had met with an accident,” said Avinash Ambure, deputy commissioner of police (crime branch), Mira-Bhayandar-Vasai-Virar (MBVV)

Mumbai: While potholes have been a menace for the city, especially the suburbs, it came as a boon for the police as they managed to track a 23-year-old history-sheeter who rammed a stolen four-wheeler into an electric pole due to potholes in Vasai-Virar. While interrogating the accused – identified as Shabad alias Baba Naushad Shaikh, a resident of Nalasopara – the police learnt that he had stolen at least 17 vehicles for joyrides and abandoned them after they ran out of fuel.

During the interrogation, Shaikh confessed to robbing a key-making machine and several key frames from a shop at Pelhar, Vasai East, and had stolen several vehicles using duplicate keys. “The accused used to drive the vehicles and abandon them as soon as they ran out of fuel,” said Ambure. (HT PHOTO)

On September 4, the police received a complaint about a silver Wagon R which was stolen from Nalasopara. “On checking the CCTV footage of the nearby areas, the vehicle was found abandoned at Sriram Nagar in Nalasopara East. The vehicle’s front portion was damaged, suggesting that it had met with an accident,” said Avinash Ambure, deputy commissioner of police (crime branch), Mira-Bhayandar-Vasai-Virar (MBVV).

The officer added that on asking around, the shopkeepers in the area told that the driver of the vehicle was severely injured after the vehicle hit an electric pole around 12.30am on September 5 and was rushed to the nearby Sai Hospital.

The police then reached the hospital, unearthed the name of the accused, and learnt that he was admitted to the hospital for three days and was discharged on September 9. The police then acquired the phone number of Shaikh, a known house breaker, however, his residential address registered with the service provider was that of Kurla.

“We then asked the hospital staff to call Shaikh and ask him to come for a follow-up check-up,” another police officer said, adding, “On September 11, when Shaikh arrived at the hospital, we arrested him.”

During the interrogation, Shaikh confessed to robbing a key-making machine and several key frames from a shop at Pelhar, Vasai East, and had stolen several vehicles using duplicate keys. “The accused used to drive the vehicles and abandon them as soon as they ran out of fuel,” said Ambure.

Further, the police unearthed that Shaikh was once stopped in Mahim by a traffic police officer for jumping a signal. “The 23-year-old had told the traffic police officer that he had forgotten his license at home and left the place under the guise of fetching the license but never returned. The accused had also robbed several driving licenses from other people and used to show the same to the traffic police officers when he was stopped,” the officer said.

The police have also seized several mobile phones from the accused.