2 gangs of auto-lifters busted, 3 arrested

With the arrest of three persons, the Delhi police has busted two gangs of auto-lifters in the city.

The police recovered 11 stolen vehicles, including two cars, six motorcycles and three Scootys, from the accused, identified as Mohammed Askar Ahmed (33), Abdul Gaffar (32) and Junaid (21). With these arrests, 11 cases of vehicle thefts, registered at different police stations of the city, have been solved.

On Tuesday, a police team was checking vehicles at Sarai Julena, near Escorts Hospital, and two persons on a Scooty were apprehended along with the stolen vehicle with a fake number plate. They were identified as Mohammed Askar Ahmed and Abdul Gaffar, both are residents of Thoubal in Manipur. At their instance, another five motorcycles, two cars and two Scootys were also recovered from different parking lots, which were stolen from different parts of the city.

During interrogation, the police found that Askar was the kingpin of the gang and had been previously arrested in three cases. His associates used to steal the vehicles under his guidance and thereafter they parked these stolen vehicles at different parking lots so that no one could suspect them. They used fake number plates and showed fake registration certificates to the police, if stopped at any checking point.

One of the associates of this gang, Mohammed Aslam, a resident of Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh, was the receiver of the stolen vehicles. Aslam, who is still absconding, used railways parcel system for transportation of stolen vehicles to the Northeast.

Of the 10 recovered vehicles, seven vehicles have been linked to the cases registered at different police stations in the city. On the basis of the recovery and disclosure of the accused persons, 10 cases of auto-theft have been solved.

In second case, a police patrol near Zamroodpur Labour Chowk, close to Lady Sri Ram College, late on Monday night arrested one Junaid along with one motorcycle, which was found to be stolen from Ambedkar Nagar. During interrogation, Junaid revealed that he along with an accomplice, Bunni, had stolen four motorcycles from Zamroodpur in last one month and disposed of these stolen motorcycles in Nuh district of Haryana. The police recovered six motorcycles, two cars, and three Scootys from their possession.