BHOPAL : The crime branch of the state police has busted an inter-state gang of vehicle-lifters and arrested one of the key members of the gang.
The crime branch, on the basis of information provided by the arrested thug, seized seven four-wheelers including a Tata 407 mini truck, a Tata 1109 truck and a Mahindra Bolero pickup. The total value of the seized vehicles is said to around Rs one crore.
The arrested thug is a history-sheeter and was arrested two years back also on the charges of vehicle lifting by the crime branch and 14 four-wheelers were seized from him. He resumed his illegal business after coming out from jail.
DIG Raman Singh Sikarwar addressing the media persons on Sunday said that the crime branch had got intelligence from an informer that Abid Khan, resident of Ashta in Sehore, is involved in the trade of stolen four-wheelers. He purchases stolen vehicles, erased the chassis number and then gets new registration documents by fixing new chassis number on the vehicle. He himself was driving one such vehicle and was coming to Bhopal to get the vehicle serviced in the service station.
The crime branch on the basis of the information laid a siege and spotted Abid driving a truck bearing registration number UP 96 A 9902. The team members signalled Abid to stop and show the vehicle documents.
Abid very confidently showed the documents to the team. When the team checked the documents they found that there was a difference in the engine and chassis numbers as mentioned in the documents and the ones etched on the vehicle.
The crime branch team, dissatisfied with his answers, took him into custody and interrogated him. In the interrogation he revealed that the members of the gang in Uttar Pradesh lift the vehicles and deliver them to him to complete the documents and sell them in MP.
