Gang of vehicle thieves busted, 11 stolen vehicles recovered

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, February 7

With the arrest of five persons, the Ludhiana police have claimed to have busted a gang of vehicle thieves. They have been identified as Rohit Verma, alias Ravi, of New Vijay Nagar; Ram Chander of Gurbaksh Colony in Salem Tabri; Balvir Kumar of EWS Colony on Tajpur Road; Jaswant Singh, alias Mintu, of Islam Ganj; and Heera Lal of a slum area, near railway station. The police have registered a case against them under sections of the IPC and further investigation is under way.

The police have recovered 11 stolen vehicles, including seven motorcycles, a car and an SUV. According to the police, the suspects had stolen these vehicles from areas of Ludhiana in the past some months. The used to sell the stolen vehicles to scrap dealers who further sold their parts on the black market.

Gurpreet Singh Sikand, ADCP 1, said the suspects were arrested during investigation into the theft of a Toyota Innova outside a workshop on January 21. “During investigation, the police found that the SUV was stolen by the persons who had arrived outside the workshop in a Tata Indigo. A police team spotted the same car on a bridge at Dharampura. The police intercepted the car and nabbed Balvir Kumar,” said the ADCP.

During questioning, Balvir told the police that he, along with his two accomplices Rohit Kumar, alias Ravi; and Ram Chander had stolen the SUV. He also told the police that Ravi and Ram Chander were also coming there in the stolen SUV. “After sometime, a police team intercepted the SUV and nabbed Ravi and Ram Chander. They had installed a fake registration number plate on the stolen SUV,” said Sikand.

During further investigation, the police arrested two more accomplices of the suspects, Jaswant Singh, alias Mintu, and Heera Lal. The police also recovered nine more stolen vehicles on the basis of revelations made by the suspects. According to the police, Rohit and Balvir had also stolen a Hyundai Santro from Delhi. “The accused sold the Santro to a scrap dealer in the Gill Chowk area of Ludhiana. We also carried out a raid to arrest the scrap dealer but he had absconded. The police have been searching for him and he will be arrested soon,” said the ADCP.