The MIDC police apprehended a man for allegedly stealing parts of four-wheelers and motorcycles which were parked in the Andheri area. A total of 36 engine control modules (ECM) and 32 CNG injectors, worth ₹2.80 lakh were recovered from the accused, said the police on Sunday.
The matter first surfaced on June 30, when a man named Gorakhnath Jadhav, 40, had parked his four-wheeler near Ambika Tower at Jijamata Road in Andheri. When he returned, he noticed his CNG injector and connector were missing from his vehicle. Apart from Jadhav, four other vehicles, which included motorcycles, parked nearby at the same place had their parts missing from the vehicles, including ECM. ECM, also called an Engine Control Unit, is a device which controls multiple systems of an internal combustion engine in a single unit, which ranges from ₹4,500 to ₹23,000 if sold locally.
Modus operandi of the crime
Police, after registering a case, noticed the modus of the crime, which was to break open the vehicle and steal the parts. Going by the modus, they came across two previous cases registered at the Malwani police station, however,no arrests were made in the matter. Gathering whatever information that they got from the previous cases, and CCTV footage from Andheri’s crime location, police managed to trace the accused, with additional assistance from the police informants.
Accused arrested by police
The accused, Mohsin Mehboob Sheikh, 28, was arrested on Sunday morning, from his house located in Kurar Village, Malad. During the raid in his house, police found a total of 68 motor vehicle parts, 36 ECMs and 32 CNG injectors which he had stored at his house, to sell “later” along with an accomplice who is currently on the run, said the police. At this point, police are interrogating Sheikh to know his usual spots from where he stole vehicle parts and the sellers to whom he sold the items. Meanwhile, they are also searching for the second accused, who is still unknown.
(To receive our E-paper on WhatsApp daily, please click here. To receive it on Telegram, please click here. We permit sharing of the paper's PDF on WhatsApp and other social media platforms.)
