2 involved in vehicle thefts for 20 yrs held

Noida: Two members of a gang involved in vehicle thefts for over 20 years were nabbed by Noida’s sector-24 police from the washroom of a compressed natural gas (CNG) refilling station in sector-53 on Thursday morning

Noida: Two members of a gang involved in vehicle thefts for over 20 years were nabbed by Noida’s sector-24 police from the washroom of a compressed natural gas (CNG) refilling station in sector-53 on Thursday morning.

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The suspects were identified as Mustaqim and Iqbal, natives of Bulandshahr and Meerut respectively. They were produced before a magistrate and later sent to jail. Police said a search was on to trace two more members of the gang who were on the run.

Police said one of the suspects on the run was a scrap dealer who was planning to stand for the elections for the post of panchayat pradhan (headman) in Meerut. Police have identified four of his properties bought with the money obtained by selling the stolen vehicles.

Police have recovered five cars --- two Santros, a WagonR, an Alto, and an i10-- along with two keys (used to break into vehicles), three car engines, tools used for thefts and a country-made pistol from the arrested suspects.

“The group mostly targeted small vehicles. We have CCTV footage of the suspects stealing parked vehicles from 24 different locations n Noida and Central Noida. They mostly committed the thefts during daytime. Mustaqim confessed that he felt the parked vehicles told him to take them away,” said Rajneesh Verma, assistant commissioner of police (ACP), zone 1.

According to police, the gang stole 20 to 25 vehicles per month on an average from Noida, Ghaziabad, Hapur and Delhi. The ACP said the gang had stolen a car from sector-37 last week. Mustaqim used the profits from the thefts to help his wife win an election for the position of a block chief in Bulandshahr.

“The vehicle models older than 2008 were stripped and the parts sold, for which they fetched ₹30,000-40,000. In case of newer models, they changed the engine and chassis numbers, procured fake registration certificates and then sold the vehicles for ₹70,000-80,000,” said Verma.

The Noida police have identified dozens of cases against the suspects. The police teams from nearby districts will also question them. The call details of the suspects have been obtained as evidence of their involvement in the vehicle thefts.

This is the second such case of vehicle thefts to be busted in less than a month in Noida. Three members of a gang were nabbed on March 2 from whom the Noida police recovered four vehicles, several keys and number plates.