The central crime detection unit of the Mira Bhayandar-Vasai Virar (MBVV) has arrested the king-pin of an auto-lifters gang, which is said to be involved in a spate of rickshaw thefts in areas including Bhayandar, Virar, Thane and Mumbai. The police recovered nine stolen auto-rickshaws, two motorcycles and a mobile phone collectively valued at Rs6.88 lakh from the accused.
Alarmed by the sudden rise in cases of auto-rickshaw thefts, the central crime detection unit started investigating the cases by scanning closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras and activating their core informer network.
Details of case
The gang had recently stolen an auto-rickshaw from Rai village in Bhayandar. Based on a tip-off about a suspect who was regularly dismantling parts of auto-rickshaws in the Ramu Compound area, the team immediately reached the spot and caught the suspect Salman Parvez Shaikh alias Ashraf, 32, in the act.
However, his accomplices are still at large. Investigations revealed that the accused would keep a watch on auto rickshaws, which were parked in unguarded areas and stole them with the help of his accomplices who would either sell the vehicle by fixing bogus number plates or dismantle the spare parts and sell it separately for the crime to go unnoticed. The accused also minted money by renting out unsold autos to unaware drivers on a shift basis.
